Surprise Ending - Day 30

30 days. 3,597 words. One prayer. Times two.

"Surprise me, God."

Today marks the official end of my "surprise reprise" faith journey - an idea taken from Terry Esau's book, "Surprise Me, God." Some of what happened today includes:

• Sitting at the hospital bedside of a friend.
• Coffee with friends.
• "Fun night" with our HomeTeam (evidently "fun" means watching Dancing with the Stars and not playing Texas Hold'em)
• A thought provoking conversation with a newly enrolled graduate student whose last mission was literally that . . . a mission - flying sorties over Afghanistan.
• My lovely wife saying good-bye to her twentys.
• Finding my next book to read - "Religiously Transmitted Diseases."

God, you continually surprise. You continually amaze. You are beyond compare. You are worthy. Of any. Of all. Forever.

As the t-shirt I saw today declared . . .

"peas . . . out."

Puncture - Day 29

Yesterday I found a nail in the rear, driver side, tire of our trusty Tracer. It was placed perfectly to keep the air in and leakage out. I made this judgement based upon a thorough, yet brief, observation. The tire looked full and was not visibly low. Astute.

Today I took the car in to have the tire fixed. Of course, fixing was not possible. The whole tire had to be replaced. Something about the position of the puncture, the liability of the store, the alignment of the stars, and some obscure decision that either Mssrs. Bush or Clinton did, or did not, make in a timely manner. Now, I knew from my above mentioned observation that I could safely "get by" on the tire for some time without replacing it. The only question was, "How long is some time?" So, I bit the bullet and authorized the replacement (yes, Danny, it was a prorated).

It's day 29 of my "surprise me, God" faith journey. With one day to go I must admit that I've not been aware of any earth-shattering events or encounters. No thunderbolts from the blue. No life-altering "ah-ha"moments. But it has been useful to once again look into the "everyday" and see God's presence. And patience. And care.

It's not enough to go through life punctured, plugged, or simply "getting by." When I entered into relationship with Jesus, there was no quick fix. No patch. It was, is, and continues to be a renewing. Dropping aside the old and worn out. Putting on the new. A renewing not brought about by me, but by one greater. Replacing my woundedness with his healing. My incomplete with his whole. My punctured tire with his steel belted radials.

Anybody got a jack?

A Reminder - Day 28

During my first 30 day journey of surprise death became a recurring theme. Through 27 days of this "reprise" that particular topic has not come up . . . until now.

On Sunday mornings our staff gathers to touch base, coordinate schedules, and share prayer requests. This morning I found out that last night an automobile accident had taken the lives of two teenagers. A third young man in the car, the driver, was badly injured and in a local hospital. He is also the son of one of our friends. Details are sketchy at best. Nevertheless, much grief and pain are ahead for several families, their relatives, and close friends.

At this same 7:30am meeting we heard that our pastor's brother-in-law had died Saturday. He has been ill for some time, yet death had not seemed imminent. So little we know . . .

A call in the middle of the night concerning a loved one. A family member moving from this life to the next. Injury and heartache and tears and empty looks of "why?" I know not all surprises are good, or neat, or packaged for the pulpit.

Today was a reminder.