As beautiful as the homes looked and as happy as the party goers appeared it seemed supercilious to me.
My husband squeezed my hand. "Whatcha thinkin'?" he said in that wonderful eastern North Carolina drawl. "I'm thinking God is good. He's blessed us beyond measure with family and wonderful friends". "Yes. Yes, he has" he replied quietly.
My husbands move to another firm 10 years ago in another town has put us in an unusual position. We have had the privilege, due to business, to cultivate new relationships out of town. Those acquaintances have turned into our church family. Our friends. We have had the luxury to live in a tiny town with all of its conveniences and all of it's familiarity. Yet our relationships really revolve around our brothers and sisters in Christ in another town.
Driving through the streets of our tiny town I got a bird's eye view of our lives as they had been. Our lives as they are now. God knew, before we did, that we were different. He is so very good.
One of the couples in our bible study supper club group is originally from our tiny town. They now reside in the town my husband works. Karen is one of the most vivacious women I have ever met. She lights up a room with her enthusiasm. She is the mother of 13 children. A wife of a physician. A former N.C. House of Representative. An outspoken follower of Christ. And she is recovering from brain surgery at Johns Hopkins. Not surprisingly, Karen has apparently been praying for her nursing staff and their families. Selflessly worrying about those who are to be taking care of her. Blessing those who are serving her.
We stop at a 3 way intersection. Excited young couples exiting cars hurrying towards decorated lively houses. As we watch the crowd of young couples head towards the party I wonder. Could I have survived the trials in my life without a relationship with Christ? Would I have enjoyed my 30's more if I had been more grounded in knowing who I was in Christ? Rather than worrying about how and where I fit into the world?
The Lord clearly directed our path. I'm so glad, after years of trying to do it our way, we listened to Him. We've experienced heartache. Yet He knew all along. He knew His plan for us. Our plan was never meant to be the life of the party. His plan for us was actually to separate us. That tearing away was painful. Figuring out where we fit. And didn't fit. And, yet, He perfectly ordained our extraordinarily ordinary life.
Through His eyes we've watched miracles. Through His eyes we've communed with brain surgery warriors, artists, real estate agents, decorators, business owners, architects, surgeons, dermatologists, bartenders, stock brokers and football players. Through His eyes this senseless world makes sense. Through His eyes I see amazing grace. Through His eyes I see what life is meant to be.
It's thanking Him for a roof over your head. Thanking Him for the sunrise. Thanking Him for healthy children. Thanking Him for a free country. Thanking Him for your sister in Christ who survived an unimaginable brain surgery. Thanking Him for precious siblings and family. Thanking Him for loving us enough to save us from ourselves.
It's recognizing that we are lost without Him. Knowing that with Him we are found. His grace. It truly is sufficient. It is what propels us forward and pulls us through.
His plan may not be what you invisioned for your life. But it is exactly what He saw. Walking it through. Glorifying Him through the trials. That's the joy. That is where we witness who Christ truly is.
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his
glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth."-John 1:14
