Sunny Side Up Sept 11, 2002 � 2002, Kathleen Gibson We�re in his hands after all Sometimes I try to figure God out. To weasel out the information in his personal calendar. To know his precise plans. Muddled circumstances swirl around us�the entire globe is circled nightly with news of alarming intensity. It would be nice to know what he�s up to, that�s all. But I�ve never been so privileged, and sometimes it appears that the God who�s supposed to have the whole world in his hands is off napping in another galaxy. So when the worry-worm burrows deep, I clamber onto the platform called �the present� and get out the binoculars of memory and history. As I look over my shoulder into the past, a subtle shift occurs in me. I�m ashamed. God�s fingerprints are everywhere. I even see the direction of his footprints. It�s then I understand that what seemed like God�s naptime was anything but. The present is too near, you see. It renders us breathless by its suffocating nearness, sightless with its glare. Drains us in its pressing activities and constant motion. We weren�t created to understand it, simply to move through it. But the past is still. Still enough to walk around; to poke its hidden corners and prod out things we couldn�t see when it was up and moving. There are surprises under those musty-dusty layers of weeks, years, and centuries�and a clearer picture of God�s activities. We begin to see that his love for us shaped what seemed catastrophic into precious gifts.... I wanted that job; couldn�t understand why I didn�t get it. Now I know that if I had I wouldn�t be writing today. Joni Eareckson was in her teens when a diving accident rendered her a quadriplegic. Decades later, America has been impacted by her work on behalf of the disabled. She claims she could never have been as effective a person without the accident. A young man I know was deeply disappointed in love. The wedding date was set. She changed her mind. He despaired of ever finding a life�s partner. Some time later someone far more suitable, a dark-haired, doe eyed woman tiptoed into his life. They�re married today. The devastation that occurred in New York a year ago was beyond comprehension. But in retrospect, a nation is stronger, people are wiser, and story after story has confirmed that God was at work even in the darkest of those moments. True, not everything about God�s doings can be understood by shoulder checking. There are some things only heaven will reveal. But I�ve discovered something else about God�he doesn�t mind being questioned. He even answers, when we learn how to listen. So I keep spying on him, collecting his fingerprints, watching for the direction of his footprints; hunting for evidence of his activities in history books, old letters, and tear-stained journals. And in the underlined, highlighted, dog-eared pages of my Bible I read that he never slumbers or sleeps, and I�m reassured. He�s got you and me in his hands after all. You can respond to this column at [email protected] |
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