When it doesn't go according to plan
I'm not sure what, if anything, God saved me from today, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it was something that wasn't good for me.
It's been a weird week. I was supposed to fill in for my pastor friend at his church in Murray today. That was the plan, anyway. I didn't get as much time for preparation as I wanted this week, either. I was to deliver a sermon he wrote, so that kind of took the pressure off of me about writing one, but I still had to come up with a benediction and be prepared to officiate over communion.
I've done that before, so it was not a huge thing to prepare for, but still, it's to me a very holy thing and I want to make sure that I'm using the right words. The benediction was easy to come up with. Today was the first Sunday in Advent, and the topic today was hope. A candle would be lit, hymns sung, and the message. Then communion, then the benediction, and that was that.
My church had their annual holiday dinner yesterday. I said I'd decorate a table, so I had to find time to do that on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday, I was sick. Wednesday thru Saturday, well, they're for my old friend "mandatory overtime".
The drive to Salt Lake this morning wasn't bad until I got into Salt Lake City itself. Unwise and unskilled drivers were passing me on a very slick and starting to become snow packed I-15; one such human being got to meet a Wal-Mart semi, spin out, and wreck her car. Another that passed me was also involved. Nothing serious; just some property damage and a semi truck at a dead stop in the middle lane of the freeway. I was driving for the conditions so I was able to stop and avoid being in that accident or causing another one avoiding that one.
When I arrived at the church in Murray, the only other person there was the guy shoveling snow. The door was locked and that's when it dawned on me that being an older congregation, church was probably not going to happen because of the weather. A message shortly thereafter, confirmed by a phone call, and yup, no church service.
I was disappointed by that, but thought maybe that I could get back to Ogden in time to hear the sermon at my own church. Nope. I realized I had the wrong keys and didn't have my key to the church and rather than cause a fuss by having to knock on the door, I decided not to. Our church, by the way, is in a bad part of Ogden, and sometimes people come there to do other things than worship, so we've had to resort to limiting entry during the service so things don't get damaged or come up missing. It's just part of the times we live in.
It dawned on me that maybe things went the way they were supposed to. I mean, I didn't have time to prepare like I wanted to. It was one thing after another all week. Turns out that I didn't have time to prepare because I didn't NEED it. I was willing to fill in, and I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get to. But when God changes my plans, there's a reason for it, and as I drove home I remembered that and asked the right question:
What are You saving me FROM?
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was a wreck. Maybe it was just that I was supposed to hang out with my favorite seven year old for a couple of hours today. He picked out a very nice tree for me. We bought decorations for it, and I put it up tonight. All my decorations are in quarantine for six more months, including my beloved train. I found a village at the thrift store that had a train, figurines, and buildings for $20, I have my Christmas dishes on display, and bought a $2 sock because mine is among the things in sacks I can't open until next July.
Oh, sorry about that. Rabbit trail again. Back to the point.... sometimes I don't know what God is doing with my life, but I know that He's got the right to do whatever He pleases. I had plans. So did He. His won out. I'm not upset nor angry. I just was not supposed to be at my church today, nor was I supposed to be in Salt Lake for longer than I was today. I'm used to delays, disruptions, re-directions, and changes at the last second. I just go with it, and give God thanks.
I may never know why things went the way they did today, but I"m good with it.
It's just another day that ends with "Y".
It's been a weird week. I was supposed to fill in for my pastor friend at his church in Murray today. That was the plan, anyway. I didn't get as much time for preparation as I wanted this week, either. I was to deliver a sermon he wrote, so that kind of took the pressure off of me about writing one, but I still had to come up with a benediction and be prepared to officiate over communion.
I've done that before, so it was not a huge thing to prepare for, but still, it's to me a very holy thing and I want to make sure that I'm using the right words. The benediction was easy to come up with. Today was the first Sunday in Advent, and the topic today was hope. A candle would be lit, hymns sung, and the message. Then communion, then the benediction, and that was that.
My church had their annual holiday dinner yesterday. I said I'd decorate a table, so I had to find time to do that on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday, I was sick. Wednesday thru Saturday, well, they're for my old friend "mandatory overtime".
The drive to Salt Lake this morning wasn't bad until I got into Salt Lake City itself. Unwise and unskilled drivers were passing me on a very slick and starting to become snow packed I-15; one such human being got to meet a Wal-Mart semi, spin out, and wreck her car. Another that passed me was also involved. Nothing serious; just some property damage and a semi truck at a dead stop in the middle lane of the freeway. I was driving for the conditions so I was able to stop and avoid being in that accident or causing another one avoiding that one.
When I arrived at the church in Murray, the only other person there was the guy shoveling snow. The door was locked and that's when it dawned on me that being an older congregation, church was probably not going to happen because of the weather. A message shortly thereafter, confirmed by a phone call, and yup, no church service.
I was disappointed by that, but thought maybe that I could get back to Ogden in time to hear the sermon at my own church. Nope. I realized I had the wrong keys and didn't have my key to the church and rather than cause a fuss by having to knock on the door, I decided not to. Our church, by the way, is in a bad part of Ogden, and sometimes people come there to do other things than worship, so we've had to resort to limiting entry during the service so things don't get damaged or come up missing. It's just part of the times we live in.
It dawned on me that maybe things went the way they were supposed to. I mean, I didn't have time to prepare like I wanted to. It was one thing after another all week. Turns out that I didn't have time to prepare because I didn't NEED it. I was willing to fill in, and I'm kinda disappointed that I didn't get to. But when God changes my plans, there's a reason for it, and as I drove home I remembered that and asked the right question:
What are You saving me FROM?
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was a wreck. Maybe it was just that I was supposed to hang out with my favorite seven year old for a couple of hours today. He picked out a very nice tree for me. We bought decorations for it, and I put it up tonight. All my decorations are in quarantine for six more months, including my beloved train. I found a village at the thrift store that had a train, figurines, and buildings for $20, I have my Christmas dishes on display, and bought a $2 sock because mine is among the things in sacks I can't open until next July.
Oh, sorry about that. Rabbit trail again. Back to the point.... sometimes I don't know what God is doing with my life, but I know that He's got the right to do whatever He pleases. I had plans. So did He. His won out. I'm not upset nor angry. I just was not supposed to be at my church today, nor was I supposed to be in Salt Lake for longer than I was today. I'm used to delays, disruptions, re-directions, and changes at the last second. I just go with it, and give God thanks.
I may never know why things went the way they did today, but I"m good with it.
It's just another day that ends with "Y".
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