David, I am a fairly young mom -- and am still struggling to figure out this thing called life in God's family --- so, forgive me if I sound too preachy or heretical myself!
As a young mom, with a type A personality, plans are something I think about often ---and find that more times than not, my plan isn't really the plan...but a partial part of the ultimate plan of the day. No matter how messed up my check list gets with marks or erase scratches, at the end of the day I can look back and see how everything had a special place in fulfilling the overall goals of loving and caring for my children. (already you know what I want to say)....
I am not sure that everything that happens in our lives -- the details and situations that we worry ourselves over -- even the horrible of the horrible large scale decisions that us free willed people have encountered -- are ever part of God's plan for his children. His plan was for the children to live in the garden of Eden and enjoy the loving relationship He has so freely given us ---and now, due to our disobedience, to restore that right relationship. Just as Cooper falling off his bike and hitting his head on the pavement after mommy told him (over and over) to wear his helmet...his decision to refuse my promptings lead to a large and painful bump on his sweet little head. I am ultimately sad for him, but love him just the same and our relationship is restored upon learning mommy indeed knows best. I am not trying to trivialize the Holocaust or large scale attack on innocent people or even the sadness of loss and disease, but what I am getting at is that at the end of the day, the Lord's plan is still always accomplished. His children are blessed and His name is glorified. His children are loved and cared for. Their scares are soothed by the sweet whispers of his love and grace. They remember that the Lord is Lord and knows best --and place thier trust in Him once again. Their fears are conquered through the hope of heaven. And best of all, His presence is even closer than the day before. Is this heretical?? I am not sure...but it gets me through the bumps and bruises of my messy life -- I only wish that we (as a human race) would trust Him more and obey his promtings every time, we would then truly be in a better world.
I am interested in what you think! Thank you for following, and I enjoy your writing too. Mark and Darcy Dill forwarded me some of your book -- I have enjoyed what I have read thus far (have a lot of questions regarding it some of it) and looking forward to the middle and ending!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yeah, I get really tangled in theological stuff. I'm learning, as so many have said before, that the more I know, the less I know for sure. I do trust God, and believe God is worthy of trust because "God is love," my first memory verse as a child.
ReplyDeleteI did my master's thesis on Exodus 32, where God says Israel is going to get wiped-out. Then Moses and God argue about who's people the Israelites are, and Moses seems to get God to "change his mind." God even "repents of the evil He had planned." (Yikes. That "evil" part really doesn't square with my theology... Anyway, my point in the paper was that prayer impacted the future. One future would have been Israel-less. The actual one was changed because of Moses persistence. I guess...
Who knows.
Thanks about the book. Have you read the first seven chapters, and the four sections of The Parable of the Gym? You can get them at the site. Let me know your questions. My first answer is NO, it is not autobiographical.
Peace.