I Know of...

I know of a mom.  One that is just barely making it.  One whose faith is being stretched in the provision of needs, and without much extra.  Which kinda stinks at Christmas.  So she decided to do without a few of the "normal" things that usually go into the stockings.  Like chapstick.  Silly, little, insignificant chapstick.  But it wasn't without a fight.  And God dealt with her on this issue...this issue of not buying chapstick and the many things that were behind it.  She obeyed.  And within days, discovered that somebody in the most coincidental and random fashion that God could possibly orchestrate, bought all of her kids chapstick. 

I know of two friends.  Two friends that could very well be a cover story entitled "Unlikely Friends."  One friend asked the other friend about having a girls night out.  There were many options of days to choose from.  Go figure that the day that ended up working for both of these busy friends was the perfect day...not just for one reason, but several reasons.  Some reasons they were able to easily pinpoint...but they seemed to have a sense that some of the reasons are TBD.  Nonetheless, there is only One who could have possibly known which day was the necessary day.

I know of a little girl.  A little girl who was just recently asked what her number one Christmas gift wish would be.  The little girl thought about it, and then in a very matter-of-fact manner with over the top specificity declared what she wanted.  Her answer, down to the very color, was the exact match for something that her parents had acquired months ago, putting it away for Christmas.  They didn't know what she would ask for.  She didn't know what they already had planned.  But God had lined it all up beautifully.

I know of a little boy.  A little boy with some sensory issues, making certain fabrics intolerable for him to wear.  His mom, at the request of some kind-hearted anonymous gift givers, put together a list of things he could use for Christmas.  She forget to mention the specific fabric that was required on the clothing she suggested, however.  I'm guessing by now you can probably figure out what happened.  The mom opened the box to look at the clothing before wrapping it for her son.  She wept.  The fabric was perfect.  And bonus...the outfit is designed in his favorite color combo.

And I know of a plethora of other people and situations.  But I think you get the point.

Some of these stories are mine and some are not.  But it really doesn't matter which is which, now, does it?

No.  Because it's not about the mom or the friends or the little girl or the little boy or any of the characters that make up the cast of the "others..."

It's about Jesus.

"Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?"  Matthew 6:26.

When I read that, I can't help but contemplate my own take on it...look at the mom and the friends and the little girl and the little boy ...they keep on keeping on, through the uncertainty and the silence and the what ifs, yet your heavenly Father gives them chapstick and calendar coordination and their number one Christmas gift list and the right kind of pants...WE ARE VALUABLE TO HIM.

That's Jesus, alright.  Whether the name Jesus causes you to think of a babe in a manger or a Savior hanging on a cross...it's one and the same. 

Jesus.  Who knows all and is all to all.

In each of these situations, there was a period of silence.  God did not tell the mom He was going to provide chapstick.  God did not tell the friends why that date was the right one.  God did not tell the parents of the little girl that the gift they were holding on to for her would be her number one wish.  And God did not tell any of the people involved in the story of the little boy much of anything.  He just silently guided.

In a devotion preceding a rehearsal some days ago, this idea of silence was talked about.  Specifically the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments.  How hard was that for those people?  The people that had been hearing from the prophets about the coming Messiah, only to have nothing for their ears to feast upon for 400 years.  And to think that I get in a tizzy about just a day or week or month in which God has said nothing more than "you're on the right path...keep it up."  No visible signs and wonders.  Yet, just like the mom and the friends and the little girl and the little boy, there is purpose behind the silence.  It is freeing God up to do something bigger and better.  To turn His attention toward other elements of the plot.  Making sure that none of the players know exactly what is going on until it is the perfect time.  To know too soon would take away some of His glory.  To know too late, well, that's just not how God operates.  That kind of silence is not a punishment.  And it may or may not be a test.  I think that it is  an indicator that God trusts the ones living in that silence.  Knowing that silence is not too much for them to handle.  Knowing that those ones will make the most of the silence.  Knowing that the end result, in which silence is required, will be more grand and glorious than we could ever fathom.

Bottom line: it's just better to let God do it His way.  His timing.  His balance of silence/signs & wonders.

I know of this struggle. 

I know of this silence. 

And I know of His faithfulness.

P.S.  It's always worth it.

P.P.S.  I also know of the reality that I will need this reminder just as much as the next guy on yet to be determined days in my future...so to those of you reading this that have the knack for calling me out when I need it, continue to do so.  I'm OK with it.