Night Vision
Friday, June 4, 2010
I am often surprised at the twists and turns our lives can take. One minute you're bored wallowing in your fallen nature, and the next...your life is reborn full of the very nature of God. It's an incredible transformation.
But along with submitting your life to Christ's headship, He begins to navigate and steer you in directions you never thought possible or probable and I get lost sometimes trying to make sense of it all. Do you? I try to logically make sense of my life's events like moving to different states, attending Bible school, or moving across the country, or joining the military and finding myself across the world in Afghanistan...how do these things all link together??? What's He up to?
In the Army when we drive or do missions at night, we wear night vision or nods to help us see at night, when you can't see anything. They work very well. Sometimes just for fun in the black of night I will lift them up from over my eye to see what I can make out. It usually doesn't work and I trip over something, look stupid and then put them back down so I can see.
Sometimes this journey with God can be like that. I'm driving at night, but its not me who has the nods, its God. He can see everything clearly, even way into the distance. I just have to trust when He tells me to slow down, I slow, or turn right to avoid a pothole, that He can see even when I can't. I know He hears me complaining I can't see, and if He just told me where I was going we could get there faster, but for now I drive-on...trying to listen and make sense of it all as I go.
Can you see? Is His plan made clear to you? Or are you driving at night like me...without the nods?
But along with submitting your life to Christ's headship, He begins to navigate and steer you in directions you never thought possible or probable and I get lost sometimes trying to make sense of it all. Do you? I try to logically make sense of my life's events like moving to different states, attending Bible school, or moving across the country, or joining the military and finding myself across the world in Afghanistan...how do these things all link together??? What's He up to?
In the Army when we drive or do missions at night, we wear night vision or nods to help us see at night, when you can't see anything. They work very well. Sometimes just for fun in the black of night I will lift them up from over my eye to see what I can make out. It usually doesn't work and I trip over something, look stupid and then put them back down so I can see.
Sometimes this journey with God can be like that. I'm driving at night, but its not me who has the nods, its God. He can see everything clearly, even way into the distance. I just have to trust when He tells me to slow down, I slow, or turn right to avoid a pothole, that He can see even when I can't. I know He hears me complaining I can't see, and if He just told me where I was going we could get there faster, but for now I drive-on...trying to listen and make sense of it all as I go.
Can you see? Is His plan made clear to you? Or are you driving at night like me...without the nods?
4 comments:
Brother, I feel like you're writing my sentiments exactly. I look back, as I'm sure you do the same, and think: What the *$%&? What am I doing here? Who would've thought that I would be here doing ____? Long time ago, an old friend and I wrote a stupid song that contained the following lines: life is funny, follow me, won't you follow me? I have a great sense of humor and I definately love a journey (KEY WORD), so I have decided to not ponder to much on the the now and present, but just the thinking that my God has made a way and he hasn't forgotten about me and I know that whatever it is i'm going to end up doing - it's going to be AMAZING! i look forward to that. I am in anticipation of what in the world I will be doing in my life? or maybe not. me and my self-diagnosed ADD, have fun doing life the way God wants it to. I suppose God would know that I get bored easily and makes things happen so that I'm never bored. As Glenda states: There's never a dull moment with Charlie. It's true. hey, i'm running for office. even if i don't win. who would've thunk it? bro, you're in freakin afganistan somewhere with the potential of saving lives in pursuit of freedom - not political freedom; spiritual freedom! in my journey in and out of 22 jobs so far, i have become keenly aware that my purpose here is not in the job, but in the impact that I can have with the people that are about me, work with me, etc... This is where I have found my purpose in working different places, and how I know that if i've done my job, my God will continue to shift gears and say: ok, great. now do the same, and better, but over here - at this other job.
Just keep swimming! And can you stop writing out my thoughts!? ;-)
So well written, baby! That is exactly what this journey has felt like. And as long as I trust that God really does have the nods, and really is invested in our fulfillment, I can be okay with the fact that I can't see anything. But unfortunately my faith is still so falliable, and it's too easy to look around every once in awhile and think "ARE we going anywhere?", "IS someone guiding this crazy journey?" Either we're following a path that God has laid out for us and will begin to see how He works it all together, or we're wandering around in the dark like crazy people. From the outside, I know it can look a lot like the second. I mean - you're in Afghanistan, for crying out loud! How does that fit? But, I've got to keep believing that the reality looks more like the first option. That every seemingly unconnected strand of our life really is going to be woven together to create an amazing tapestry.
Baby,
Thank you for your words of faith and trust in God! That is why I married you..well, one of the reasons ;-)
Fultons and Lopez' are on the same journey.. learning much about ourselves and our Maker, but maybe thats the point of His madness. Lol just keep swimming! Love you both!
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