Good First Sunday Morning of Spring,
Obviously, some degree of planning in your life journey is probably a good idea, but life also offers us many unpredictable situations for which planning doesn’t seem to matter.
Oh sure, we have a pretty good idea when the sun will rise and we have a pretty good idea when it will be low tide, but for the rest of the things . . . your guess is as good as mine. In other words, a good deal of our journey of life is largely unpredictable.
The other day I was talking with a friend about this phenomenon; then Thomas tried to explain it to me. He said that “Ain't it funny how life changes. You wake up, ain't nuttin' the same, and life changes. You can't stop it, just hop on the train. You never know what's gonna happen. You make your plans and you hear God laughin'.”
Now, as much as I respect Thomas, I’m not sure he has it entirely accurate. Personally, I don’t think “life changes”, I think that “changes are life.” With much of life being unpredictable and with us not knowing for sure what is coming next (i.e., learning that you’ll soon be adding a son-in-law to your family tree) perhaps accepting that paradigm is the first step toward happiness.
So, what is step two? I don’t know, some of you might say that planning for the unexpected makes about as much sense as scheduling time for spontaneity, but if part of your planning (and I’m suggesting that it be a substantial part of your planning) for the changes that will inevitably be coming your way includes trusting in God, it seems to me like a worthy endeavor, I’m just saying . . .
For those of you that are still not quite with me(which is OK, I’m used to that), let me try to explain what Thomas was trying to explain and what I’m apparently still trying to re-explain, using a language that I’m sure you’ll understand . . . the language of Proverbs; specifically, Proverbs 3: 5-6, which tells us that we should “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding; we should in all your ways submit to him, and he will make our paths straight” or the words of our Lord, as scribed in Psalm 32:8, that “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."
So pour yourself a cup of coffee then sit back, relax . . . stand strong, hold fast to the teachings, trust in God, always wear your seat belt, and enjoy the ride . . . and then take solace in knowing that the Lord has made this day; may you rejoice and be glad in it.
Jeff Bergstrom
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P.P.S. And I leave you with the immortal words of Green Day, talking about the journey of life, “It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right. I hope you had the time of your life.”
