As you can probably tell from the time since my last post, life has been busy. I always tell myself that the church has two busy seasons – Advent through Christmas and Lent through Easter. It makes sense, right? In reality, the busy season lasts year-round. When Easter is over, then it is graduation and Vacation Bible School (VBS). When those are over, all of a sudden it is back to school; and with that comes a return to our regularly scheduled program. Before I know it, it is back to Advent and Christmas, followed quickly by Lent and Easter. In between all of this there are the weekly sermons and services, the crises, the funerals, the occasional wedding, and a million and one things that have to be done for the church, most of which they didn’t teach me in seminary. There is always something to be done in and for God’s kingdom.
If life hasn’t been crazy enough, I am embarking on a new journey to make it even crazier. I once jokingly told my kids that I go back to school for a new degree every ten years whether I need it or not. This has not been my plan. Every time I finished one degree, I swore I would never go back to school. Yet here I am, enrolled in graduate school for the third time and on the cusp of starting classes and writing a dissertation for a Doctor of Ministry degree…at 57 years old…at a time in life when many people are beginning to contemplate retirement and ‘slowing down.’ I am excited about this next step in my journey. I am also nervous, a first for me. I have always loved school and studying. I’m not sure why this time around I am having some trepidation. Maybe it is because I am another ten years older. Maybe it is because I know the amount of time, work, and energy my job requires (I wasn’t a pastor when I started my last degree). Maybe it is something else. All I know is that I am doing this, and I will need to trust in God to get me through it.
What I have learned from every one of my graduate degrees is to never say never or to tell God of YOUR plans. I just picture God sitting on God’s throne, laughing, pointing, and saying, “Watch this!” every time I tell God what I am going to do or not do or that something doesn’t make any sense. I truly believe this is God’s modus operandi. We see it all through the Scriptures. God appointed Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt even after Moses said, “I can’t.” God told Noah to build a boat when the word ‘flood’ didn’t even exist in the vocabulary of the time. God made Abraham and Sarah and Zechariah and Elizabeth parents – and parents of very important people at that – when they said, “We can’t.” God commissioned Samuel to anoint kings before Samuel know who God was. God established David as king when David said, “No. There is already a king.” God called Joseph and Daniel out of dire circumstances and set them up to be high-ranking officials in foreign governments. Each of these things – and any number of other instances we can find in the Bible – prove that God does not see things the way we do, and God has plans for each one of us. Oftentimes those plans do not line up with the way we see things for ourselves.
I think God has a great sense of humor. If you don’t think so, go ahead and tell God what you think. Tell God your plans. Then sit back and wait and watch. Tell God you are never going back to school and find yourself enrolled as a graduate student not once, not twice, but for the third time. Tell God you will never live in Texas and discover that eight out of your next ten years will be spent in the state. Tell God you are done and ready to retire and watch God open up new opportunities for both life and ministry. This has been my experience, especially since the last time I was in school. And do you know what? I have discovered that God’s plans for me and my life are so much better than anything I could have anticipated or done on my own. There are so many Scripture passages that I could pull up that relate to all of this, but today I am feeling this one:
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand.
(Psalm 31:14-15a).
Oh, and this one:
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace – in peace because they trust in you.
(Isaiah 26:3).
Ok. Just one more:
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28).
Life will often get crazy for each one of us. We are busy people with families and jobs and a social life. I know that God speaks to us in the crazy. God calls to us in all seasons of life – the slow and the busy. Put your trust in God. Let God lead you to where God wants you to be. In the end, it will be worth it. It will be so, so good because all of us are precious, beautiful, and beloved children of the Most High God, and God wants the best for God’s children.
And other than that, friends, this pastor has nothing to say today.