God, is that you?!

It's been a couple weeks now that we've been reading "Surprise Me." And it has proven to be just as delightful as I'd expected. But, Terry Esau, after 2 weeks into his experiment described in the book the tough question he was dealing with... How do you know which events in your life are of God? Which surprises are God's?

He asked this because of his fear that readers would take his book and turn it into a Prayer of Jabez, prosperity-gospel. He worried that people would see a "trivial train of 'blessings'" and assume that each $5 bill found on the ground, close parking space at the store, and rebate on the big item purchase we were going to make is all a result of God's surprising favor for us.

Is God in the mundane, sure. But we can never be sure what exactly IS or ISN'T of God.

So, what do we do with that?! (It's not very helpful, Mr. Esau!)

He encourages us to trust. To trust that God is in our lives helping us to be the best we can be. Is God there to make our business or bank account flourish? No, but God promises to be there to help US flourish... Living with that kind of trust is hard, though. And it is usually only with hindsight that we truly see which actions and opportunities in our life (however mundane or monumental) were of God.

So, we were asked the question-- which seemingly insignificant moment or event at the time turned out to be life-changing? A part of God's big plan to make us flourish in life and love and joy... Well, as I think back, there are lots of those moments:

• When I was in kindergarten, my parents wanted to sign me up for a summer school "camp;" my choices were like cheerleading or Spanish, and for whatever reason I chose Spanish... that seemingly random decision led to a love of the language which I later studied from 6th-12th grade, brought me to Spain in my senior year, allowed me to take on leadership roles in several mission events in Mexico during college, enabled me to study abroad in Spain and Mexico, minored in Spanish, and helped me use the language during internship where I even got to preach in Spanish. All because of a 6 year old's foray into Spanish one summer!
• While on a youth trip in the mountains in Wyoming, I was partnered to be "tent buddies" with a girl from my grade. She and I weren't exactly friends. But, through the course of the trip, we ended up leaving as best friends and she is one of my closest friends to this day!
• One evening during high school I was driving home with my youngest brother (who was in 8th grade at the time), and we were talking about school, friends, and life. When we got home, we stayed in the car to finish the conversation. We were discussing his plans for high school and future. We didn't know it at the time, but it ended up being a very important conversation-- not only in terms of high school selection, but also for our relationship.

See, God really does use small, singularly "insignificant" moments to do incredible things! Which shouldn't surprise us since God also seems to use seemingly insignificant people to do them! :)

Surprises

During Lent, a group of ladies began meeting for a Small Group "Sampler." Short term commitment, long term impact.

Well, our one-off, short-term group, morphed into another "Summer Sampler." Seems there's something to this relationship, faith-building together thing! :)

We decided that we wanted to gather to talk about where we see God active in our lives. We all shared that life gets busy, and we are pulled in so many directions that it is sometimes difficult to see the surprises God sends our way. So, I offered a suggestion to journey through Terry Esau's Surprise Me, a 30 day faith experiment. In his book, he decided to begin every day for a month with the prayer: SURPRISE ME, GOD! And the book is his observations, ruminations, and reflections. We are going through this book, journaling on our own, and gathering weekly in Bible study and prayer around where we see God surprising us.

Now, I have to admit. I hadn't been as disciplined in the daily reading and journaling as I'd hoped to have been. I went for several days without reading at all. But I kept the words, "Surprise Me" as a refrain, humming along between my conscious and subconscious...

And this may come as no shock, but God was there. Beginning to look for God and paying attention to where God is prompting and guiding has been a blessing. And where have those surprises come? Terry Esau describes it plainly: "What I'm saying is, surprises seem to be largely a product of our contact with people and God." It comes as no real shock that this Incarnate God of ours chooses to surprise us with love, mercy, joyfulness, and hope in and through our relationships with others.

I can't wait to see what the next days will bring, for me and my fellow "Samplers"... how will God surprise us next?