de vine!

ha.  well, the 66 books in 66 days thing didn't quite come to fruition, but I still hope to get through them all.  Life just got in the way of the 2 month time frame...

I'm in between mission trips currently.  I just got back from FL and am off to AL on Friday.  I really love the road.  I love sleeping in a moving van, I love the sound of the road, the food selections from gas stations, living out of a suit case, and not knowing what city I'm in.  Methinks I'm destined to be on a tour someday.  That would be sweet.

On this last trip, however, something odd happened.  We were in southern Illinois- I was driving the lead van and my GPS said to take hwy 74.  The Suburban behind me had a GPS that told them to go hwy 55.  I went with 74.  Oh, and before that we were supposed to be back on the road at 7:45, but some girls were late, so we didn't get back trippin' till 7:55.  Fast forward to 10:10pm- about 50 miles after we committed to hwy 74 and we are stopped on the highway.  For two hours we sat on the road.  We got out and ran around, had a dance party, pillow fight, and Catch Phrase marathon, but we did not move for 2 hours.  It turns out someone's life was sadly taken in what seems to be a tragic hit-and-run.  It happened 10 minutes before we got there.  SO, had we been on time, it is entirely possible we would have witnessed something pretty traumatic. 

The whole scenario has not left my mind this whole week.  I cannot help but think that there was a divine purpose for our being on that road.  What? Why?  I have no clue.  We gathered around and prayed for the situation once we realized it was a pretty severe accident- there were no less than 2 dozen squad cars at the scene.  Other than that, it was just a time to goof around and hope we didn't kill the car battery while we sat and waited.  But we could have (and should have) been on hwy 55.  It was the better route- I knew that- I've taken it before... But I was feelin' 74.  Why would God want us to be on the road and two hours behind schedule?  Maybe there was another accident that we avoided by being where we were- who knows?  Is that how God works?  Events and situations are on a non-stop course, all God can do is maneuver His people around them in hopes we get through unscathed?  I don't necessarily think so, but I really can't say.  God's will is (thankfully) a mystery.  How feeble would God be if we, his (sinful) creation, were to have the capacity to fully understand his divine will?  That would make us gods, or, more aptly, it would make God only as mighty as the mightiest human, and by definition, he would thus cease to be a god.

Thankfully, this is not the case. 

God is bigger than we can even fathom.  He works in mysterious ways- but always for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.  But why the seemingly random and annoying events?  Maybe because I was really tough on this schedule- the pastor wasn't too thrilled about our late ETA, so I was trying to shave and save every minute so that we would arrive right at 9pm- we were ahead of schedule- and I was happy as a clam.  Then we stopped.  Maybe it was just a simple and gentle reminder that God is indeed the one in control.  That we can plan the course, but the Lord determines the steps (or, in this case, the drive).  Ironically, even after the 2 hour delay, we were STILL 10 minutes early.  Granted, our stops were really fast and furious, but we still made our deadline, which was pretty neat.

Why did we take that route?  Why did we have to wait?  Maybe it was another lesson in patience.  In waiting.  In "letting go and letting God".  All of those things were taught.  We literally could do nothing but dance and have a good time.  We couldn't go anywhere.  No one could be mad if we were late- it was out of our hands.  We had to be patient and wait for the road to re-open or (as it turned out) for the police to divert us back the opposite way. 
Regardless, I know that this was no coincidence or happenstance.  At least, I don't think it was.  Some folks say that there is no such thing as coincidence to a Christian... I'm not entirely sure that's true- I mean, sometimes our imaginations run wild and we connect dots that we maybe shouldn't (like 99% of the conspiracy theories out there).  But, I like to think that everything that occurs in my life is at the discretion of my Lord.  Whether or not that is true, I guess I cannot be certain, but I know that he has a plan to prosper me and not to harm me, I know he determines my steps, he commands his angels concerning me to guard me in all my ways, he knows the past and the future, he knows my name and cares for me exponentially more than he cares for the tiny sparrow, and most importantly, my eternal future is secured through his perfect Son's death and resurrection.  So I got that going for me... which is nice.  As for why I was on 74, maybe it was just so that I can have another story to tell... who knows?  I just know that next time I'll be taking 55.