Of Stormy Seas and Fiery Kilns: Relay for Life

Been thinking about the pitching of stormy seas and the brutal waves that bashed against the boats of Jesus’s time. Even seasoned fisherman cried out fearing for their safety, “Toss the cargo overboard! Grab a plank and hope for the best!”

 

Yes, we can suddenly find ourselves in a lurch and over our heads, regardless of anything we’ve been through in the past, when our future doesn’t look very promising.

From where we now sit, the sky looks foreboding. It’s cold and dark and I’m seasick and weary. We’ve taken on too much water. What now? Save me Lord! And that's when we discover that He can walk on water and still the waves. Further, if we weren't out there in the middle of the storm we wouldn't have seen Him do it. But He shows up and He cares! HE IS GOD!

 

Yesterday morning I had a call from a friend I haven’t seen in some time and we went to breakfast to talk about a relative’s suicide attempts and a family homosexual wedding. Then the Lord put another friend on my heart and I called ‘out of the blue’ only to learn that her husband had been in a serious accident. A policeman who might lose his leg had been taken to UMass Medical and I found them in Worcester. We spent the rest of the day talking about skin grafts and protruding bones and suffering as well as hope and everything I’ve been learning. My friend said I was an angel to show up when she needed it most. But THAT'S GOD! He shows up. He cares... through us.  

 

After leaving the hospital I had a call asking if I’d be the keynote speaker for the Relay for Life event Friday night. Hoo boy, not a lot of time, but I trust the Lord will inspire and encourage. That’s just what he does. He shows up in the fire. He cares.

In all our messes, he is the God who gets his hands dirty. He did, after all, create Adam out of the mud, didn’t he? He calls himself a potter and pottery is never a clean business until it finally comes out of the fiery kiln.
 

What do you want me to talk about, Lord? Oh! I can talk about walking in circles, since that’s what they’re going to be doing all night long. And my goodness, my own spaghetti noodle life has ample examples of that! I don't know where I'm going or what's around the next bend, but it’s a journey for a cause and a purpose larger than my own small steps could measure.

 

It’s about teaming up and supporting one another through the hard times, showing up and continuing in faith together until the vast kiln of life finishes its work and God finishes his designs for us. It’s a race, a step-by-step transformation, and there’s a worthy goal and a finish line! So that’s what we’ll do...

We'll show up and care for one another because WE'RE GOD's! And we are following in our Father’s footsteps.

We’ll keep walking together until all this messy work is out of the kiln and we are polished and perfected like fine porcelain in the Master's House. We will endure the fire and trust his capable hands until we reach the finish line.

 

It may look like we're just walking in circles, running our laps, taking small or meaningless steps, but there's much more to the story than meets the eye. For the very act of walking transforms us and every step brings us closer to the day when every wrong will be made right and every cancer healed.