All right, y’all, I’m going to start this reflection with a confession: I enjoy connecting things. I know that may come as a shock, but there it is. Typically (for these reflections – anyway), I see one connection, and it bleeds into a dozen or so others; then I must wrestle with the idea to condense them  down to something legible/coherent to publish here on my site. Please, believe me when I say: Any actual success at coherence is the sheer grace of God. 

Take the other night for example: Jessica and the girls had already gone to bed – I won’t mention how long ago, yet I sit on our back porch for my “night shift.” 

Now, our porch is in North-central Alabama, so October means that the weather finally thinks about Fall. Sure enough, the night has a touch of coolness, and the porch lights give just enough to see the leaves changing colors. So, there’s the thought of seasonal change for the world around me.  

Then, I must put those wanderings aside (or so I think) because I’ve got to work on this reflection for Ordinary Time. Yes, the Church remains in Ordinary Time for a title while longer, which is good for me, at least. I need all the practice available for going with God, so I’m glad to be in this season a while longer. 

Next, the connection appears: The world goes through another change (Summer to Fall), but the Church remains the same (still in Ordinary Time). 

With that connection, I’d wager that you have some expectations about what follows – if you’ve listened to any sermon, read any other Christian blog, or heard any commentary from a popular media source. In other words, I could ask or answer the question: Why does the Church refuse to change with the times? Which could lead to bemoaning or celebrating one ideal of the Church. (See how quickly my one connection spawns an egg carton of others?) 

However, that is not the direction that my wrestling match took, so pardon me if I violate expectations. 

Instead of a commentary on the Church, I see a gift of comfort from God, as He uses His Church’s calendar. The blessing of comfort here is a reminder of His presence on our sanctification journeys through all of life’s seasons of change. 

You see: One thing about life seems universally constant, and that is change. Rarely – at least in my life, does any situation stay consistent for any length of time. Life’s constant change gets overwhelming on occasion; I just get tired of playing “live action whack-a-mole.” Such ongoing change can leave me with a sense of being adrift. 

Thus, I find comfort in Ordinary Time going all the way through a season change. God reminds me through the length of Ordinary Time that He goes with me through all that change. 

Picture of Ordinary Life 

After making that connection, I dart off into a hundred different rabbit holes, but if I make the “right” connection, I wind up in my ordinary, average life. (Click here to read my reflection from last month and you’ll understand why right is in quotes.) Looks like I made the correct connection for this reflection because I am immediately reminded of my ordinary life; I don’t even need the rabbit holes this time. 

Jessica and I continue to navigate her transition into real estate; I’ve found some landscaping work in addition to my writing, and we’ve started homeschooling Lynn. In other words, there’s a lot of change going on around here. Seemingly, every day offers a new set of challenges; that’s not just one or two but a whole litany of them. Yet, Jessica and I adapt to meet every one of them by the grace of God. 

In fact, the last few months serve as a witness to God if nothing else. I could cite many an example of God’s provision: work appearing when it was needed, lesson plans materializing from improvs with Lynn, and Jessica’s steady completion of the real estate course work. God’s comfort and guidance are equally represented, so we’ve no shortage of reminders about God’s presence with us. 

Still, most of these reminders look like random occurrences, or coincidences, so Jessica and I could easily mistake God’s gifts for something else. They could look like the outcomes of our own efforts. However, if I am honest, I had very little control over any of these outcomes. In that case, maybe they are simply random, but the specific application to a particular need leaves me doubtful of any randomness. 

For me, this all comes down to “going with God.” If I’m going with God, I expect to see signs of His going with me, so I’m comfortable crediting God with these “coincidences.” Sure, seeing God at work in my life – in this way – may simply be my observational bias; meaning: I look for God, so I see God. After sharing my interpretation of God’s provision, comfort, and guidance through these events, I would be interested in your interpretation, but there’s mine. In other words, God remains active in our lives, if we are bold enough to go with Him. 

Faithful Connection

Being led back to the Bible is another way that I figure I made the “right” connection. When my mind wanders [as it does when I plan for these reflections], I keep wandering until I get a confirmation or challenge through a reminder from Scripture. 

On occasion, this reminder challenges me; basically, I am directed away from whatever step that I wanted to take. I can see through the connection to Scripture an opposition to my thoughts. It’s like: “Oh, I see I’m doing exactly what Jesus chastised someone for in this scene.” 

But for now, I’m reminded of one of my favorite Bible verses: “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” [Matthew 7:8] With this reminder, I receive another comforting blessing from God.

Here, I’m comforted because God fulfills His promises. I seek God as shown in finding His grace through the coincidences in my life, and God reminds me of this verse to show that He does show up. As a result, my faith is confirmed, so I think I’ll stick with my plan of seeing God in these coincidental moments. Prayerfully, I will see many more of these moments on my sanctification journey with God.

Story Time

All right, let’s linger in God’s presence just one moment longer. After reading all of that, you may be looking for some insight into how this works for you. You may be thinking awfully hard about seeking God in your life. So, let’s have a sit-down, and I’ll tell a story. Stories are great for relaxing into whatever you’re thinking about. So, click the link below to read the story, and we’ll see what God has for us right now.

October’s Story: “Melissa & Peter”