Hi All 🙂
A (somewhat) brief update: Spring Break is over. I graduate in 8 weeks. After 4 changes in declaring a major, i’m finishing with Sociology and a minor in Health Studies. No, I have absolutely NO idea what my degree is good for–or how I’d like to use it. (Sorry?) I’ll continue to work at the Phys through the summer because my boss is awesome. Training camp is at the end of July, and I leave in September for the race!
God is FREAKING me OUT!!! (Am I allowed to say that?) I’m standing by it: God, you’re FREAKING ME OUT. Recall the face a kindergartner makes when he sees, for the first time, a giant yellow bus pulling up to his driveway. The door makes that “psss” sound as it flings open. He has to crank his neck all the way back, only to see a large, crabby, middle-aged woman rushing him into the yellow tin machine: “C’mon kid, i’m already running late”. The kindergartner glances back at his comfortable, familiar house, and at the bus once more. He thinks to himself, “you’ve got to be kidding me.” Try to imagine what this young boy’s face looks like in this moment. (Not his feelings, just his facial expression) Now flash forward 18 years, transform your 4 year old boy into a 22 year old girl with messy, flaming auburn (NOT ‘red’) hair…and give her that very same expression. This is the most accurate discription of myself that I can give you at this time. I am freaked out. And I am blaming God 🙂
God is BUSY–apparently freaking me out is a full-time job. In the last couple of weeks God has brought in support, advice, money and resources from extremely unexpected places. (By “extremely” I mean “impossible by my standards”) He has funded 33% of this trip so far. He is calling me to loving, lasting, intimate friendships with people that I haven’t even met in person yet. (This one might freak me out the most–it’s a sweet story if anyone wants to hear it. Call me!) He is showing me how truly amazing some of these girls going on this race are. AND I GET TO LIVE WITH THEM FOR ELEVEN MONTHS!!! He is bringing up some of my favorite stories in the Bible–this time, teaching me from a new angle. He is starting with Jonah–my absolute favorite. (Tho I must admit, I think it’s partly because of the Veggie Tale remake…) *hangs head in embarrassment*
I’ll make this quick! Read the book of Jonah. (It’s only 4 chapters long; you have the time) I used to read Jonah’s story thinking it was more about the messenger, and not-so-much his message. I got so caught up in Jonah’s actions that I failed to focus on what he was saying. (FAIL) I’d always focused on the part of the story when God rejects Nineveh. Nineveh was, as a whole, a sinful city. Their sin disgusted God–much like country music. (Kidding! Kind of…) This acknowledgement of sin/repentance and coming to God was really all I’d taken from this. I went back and read chapter two a few times…and realized that I overlooked God’s mercy on Jonah…AND…so did Jonah. We ususally remember the part about the plant, and how it meant more to Jonah than an ENTIRE city of poeple (!?!?!)…we are quick to point out God’s mercy on Jonah when he was spit on dry land, and we are quick to point out Jonah’s LACK of mercy on Nineveh (plant > Nineveh), BUT…I found mercy in one more part of this story–in a place I’d never seen it before.
I am quick to praise God when I read that Jonah is spit onto dry land and saved from the stomach of a whale. Now, thanks to God freaking me out, I am able to see God’s mercy BECAUSE of the whale!!! Jonah was thrown overboard in the middle of a storm. A small lifeboat would have been nice. Or a floaty. Or really strong arms to tread water through the night. But God didn’t give Jonah any of these things. Instead, Chapter 1 verse 17 says “The Lord provided a great fish”. (God–I bet you freaked Jonah out too, didn’t you.) This fish was PROVIDED. It was a form of God’s mercy! It saved him from drowning. It saved him from the storm. It save all of the men Jonah was traveling with from the storm. (If Jonah would have stayed on the boat, they would have all been screwed. Jonah needed a way off the boat so that everyone else could be safe…the whale was that way out)
As I read Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2, I wonder if he saw the whale as something given to him by God’s mercy? Granted, if I were tossed overboard, swallowed by a fish, and had to live in its stomach for 3 days, I probably wouldn’t have praised God much either. The point I am POORLY making is this: God’s mercy is lavished on us in all sorts of ways. We look for it in “beautiful” and “happy” things. Is it possible that there are “whales” in our lives that we fail to see as blessings? Do we overlook God’s mercy, simply because we don’t know what we are looking for? Do you know what God’s mercy looks like? Would you recognize it if it swallowed you whole?
How often are we swallowed by a whale…(figuratively speaking)…and instead of praising and thanking God from the inside, we pound our fists as we cry, “LET ME OUT!!!” <><
