8/11/2022
8/11/2022
Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s been a week since Cindy and I returned from our vacation, and I am still processing the experiences of our three-week road trip to the Pacific Northwest. It was a great trip; an opportunity to relax and unwind, spent in an incredibly beautiful region full of natural wonders and stunning scenery, where the presence of God was easy to see and behold. Cindy and I had a lot of fantastic experiences and created wonderful memories, but out of all of them something stood out.
Like any life experience within the bounds of our humanness there were occasional problems and challenges; most small and mainly irritating, one or two bigger and potentially consequential. Fortunately, we were able to resolve even the most challenging of them, and what Cindy and I discovered was, without fail, a problem or challenge inevitably led to something amazing that wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t encountered the setback. For example, one of the potentially serious predicaments we found ourselves in was when we lost the car keys while hiking. What was supposed to be a short 20–30-minute casual stroll through a local nature preserve on our way to somewhere else, became a two-hour frantic search through grass and underbrush. Fortunately, we found them, which was nothing short of a miracle, and we both feel the result of divine intervention. The additional time we had to stay at this spot meant we were there when a pod of orcas swam by, and we got to watch with awe. Another time we had an hour and a half wait to get into the Hoh rainforest – a minor irritation that meant letting go of some other things we wanted to do that day but nothing more. On our way out of the park several hours later than we anticipated, we passed within 10 feet of a young black bear, which we would certainly have missed if we had been able to stick to our schedule. It got to the point that when hiccups happened instead of getting frustrated or concerned, we started to wonder what wonderful thing would we encounter.
Life is a series of ups and downs, some better and worse than others. Buddha said that suffering as a series of upsets is inevitable. When we set our expectations too high and things don’t go the way we expect them too we experience negative feelings such as sadness, afear, anger, frustration, anxiety. The only way to avoid suffering is to not have any attachment to the things of this world, but that entails a suffering all its own in its isolation and detachment from the good as well as the bad.
I don’t generally ascribe to the cliche things always happen for a reason, nor to the adage that God has a plan even if we don’t know what it is. Because what kind of a God can only achieve their ends by causing people pain or putting obstacles in their way? My theology is more along the lines of “S&*+ happens.” But I do believe God can and does make good from the worst circumstances. If we allow it. As it says in Romans 8:28 “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [God’s] purpose.”
God does this over and over again in the Bible. The ultimate good from bad situation was the resurrection. At the time when it looked like the worst had happened God manifested the greatest miracle of all. Our job is not the stand in the way, and to keep our eyes open for the next miracle.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Jane+