Sunday, October 29, 2017

Our Unfinished Stories

So Moses thought, ‘I must go over and look at this remarkable sight.’” Ex 3:3.

Here is a man who was raised in favor and the royalty of a palace, but found himself at 80 years old in the wilderness tending sheep. There had been seasons of triumph, comfort and completeness, but there had also been circumstances that led to his desert living. He was 80 years old, and most likely had reconciled his future of loneliness and isolation. But one beautiful day, being fully engaged in the life God had given him, he noticed on the horizon smoke from a bush that seemed to be burning but not spreading. He gave himself permission to follow his curiosity and what he discovered changed the trajectory of his life forever! ‘I must go over and look…’

After our dad died, Mother’s heart was broken as she found her home empty of love, companionship and a lifetime of living like a queen in a palace. She was 73 at the time and grief and loss filled her days. Even in her sadness, she fully engaged into the life God had given her. She surrounded herself with friends, family and faith and eventually found the life of acceptance, healing and joy. She always said Daddy was the love of her life, and there would never be another. But one day, this wonderful gentleman from her church asked her to go to Jackson's Cafeteria, a place they both liked. She graciously declined several times, so he eventually told her if she ever wanted to go to Jackson’s to give him a call. Then one day out of nowhere, she spoke in her heart those same words of Moses so many years ago… ‘I must go over and look…’ On Saturday, the two held hands, faced each other and gave the rest of their lives to each other. All of those days she awoke to face a day of empty halls and breakfast for one. All of those nights when the last person she spoke with was through a text or a phone call. I thought her story as a wife was finished, but God had been writing subsequent chapters for years. On Saturday, we all knew we were standing on holy ground. It was truly a day that the Lord had made, and we were joyful and rejoiced in it!

Everybody is waiting on something…a spouse…a job…a cure…a change of seasons…a delivery. We sit in the mundane of our days seeing nothing…no smoke signal…no burning bush. But God is busy choosing the bush, picking up kindle, arranging the fire, watching the changing winds so the fire when lit won’t dwindle. We must keep our hearts open, and our eyes focused on Him so that when the winds are right we will determine that we must go explore the things God has revealed. In my own life, the times when I see burning bushes are times when the desert is dry. They are rarely in the times of comfort. ‘Bushes don’t burn in palaces, they burn in deserts. When we are not even able to trace His fingerprints, He is already working on our behalf. He’s stirring things up in our favor. Our hearts are tenderized when we are in the dry seasons. If you feel like God is doing nothing, this is the time when He is most likely doing a lot of something.' Discerning the Voice of God, Priscilla Shirer, p. 133.

This remarkable thing!’ Welcome to the family Ben…trust me when I say it will be a wild ride!

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