Retrospection, that is. I’ve gotten laryngitis in recent days, meaning I can’t really hang out with the kiddies for fear of me getting them sick. So thats left me pretty much quarentined and today I was told to start wearing a surgical face mask, but haven’t quite started that yet. Imagine me in quarentine in a face mask. Other than that we’re waiting on the papayas to grow so we can start planting (oh did I mention that Casey and I are doing a community tree/garden project?). All that to say the Lord has made it clear its time for me to stop my busyness and time for me to just sit with Him and talk to Him. In doing alot of that in the past week or so, something thats come out of that time with Him is a reminder of something He did about 10 months ago.
Before the World Race, there was training camp. For 2 weeks in April, I met and trained with all the people that I would be racing around the world with, my new family in a sense. One of the days, we were given vague instructions to pack our daypacks with a bible, pen, journal, and perhaps a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and oh maybe some toiletries. So, we packed up our bags, leaving most of our unecessary stuff behind, and piled into a big yellow school bus, going who knows where to do who knows what. So after bumping around on the Georgian highways and byways for a while, we passed through what looked like a small village in the Swiss Alps…alas, it wasn’t our destination. We continued on, the scenery got greener(y). We finally came to a stop and arrived…somewhere.
Stepping off the bus, we were greeted with a gorgeous view of a lake in the woods, the sun shining, the birds chirping. A state park. But still, no clue if were just being dropped off to fend for ourselves, man vs. wild style or what. The initial instructions we were given was to spend time in solitude with the Lord, and to write a grief journal (grieving things that we had to lay down and let go of to move forward with the Lord). So, I grabbed my belongings and headed along the path that wound around the lake. I found myself a spot in the woods with a view of the lake. Put my stuff down, and sat. I talked to God, I prayed, I journalled, etc. And then I sat and waited for a response.
Nothing.
I waited, fell asleep in the woods woke up, and waited some more.
Nothing.
Then, I prayed, “God I need to know that You are here, even if you are being silent, show me that You are still here.
And not through something that happens everyday like a leaf falling or a branch falling off a tree. But something where I cannot deny it was You. Amen.” I picked up my things and went in search of an AIM staff person. After I recieved prayer, I was given further instructions to pick up something that symbolized the “stuff” that I was grieving and letting go of and to follow the trail around the lake. So of couse me being me, I picked up the biggest rock I could find.
Drenched in sweat after a few minutes, I had to take a break along the way to let my arms rest.
And I felt like I would be cheating if I swapped it for something lighter, so I was stuck with my mini boulder. As I wound my way around the lake, I saw a scenic stop by the lake: a little dock out on the water. It also happened to be free of visitors, so I heaved my walking companion out onto the dock and plopped myself down next to it to catch my breathe. I closed my eyes for a little breather and some prayer. Then, I started to notice that the wind was picking up. It was getting louder and louder to the point where I had to open my eyes and see what the heck was going on.
Coming straight towards me was a funnel of water in the air, twisting and turning. My eyes were fixed as I watched the airborne water twister making its way to me. I felt fear intially, but it was totally overcome with peace. I sat in silence and watched. When it got to me, it stopped like it had hit a brick wall. The wind died down instantly and all of the water in the funnel splashed into the lake. And that is how God of the freaking universe left me mind-boggled that He would do that for me, that He would care enough to show me that He was with me in the midst of the silence.
There was nothing special about me, the day, my approach, or my prayer in all honesty. But there was something extra-ordinary in His response, in His answer to my prayer that reminded me of how extraordinary our God is. He is amazing, intimate, and available. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded of that or even shown that in some radical way. My hope is that you are encouraged…given the courage to ask. Its pretty darn amazing that we have access to a friendship, a sonship, a daughter-ship with the living God who made the air we are breathing right now. Crazy.
