Food for the Journey – 11/5/2020

How are you dealing with the stress of rising COVID numbers, no definitive election results, possibly the last warm days before winter chill, school schedules being changed up again, clocks falling back to bring us early darkness?

Staff has kidded me about preaching another Christmas sermon like last year’s:  Expect the Unexpected as if I were prescient about what 2020 would bring!  (Maybe you better send me possible sermon titles for this year’s Christmas message).

In the meantime, I’d like to remind that the unexpected can also be wonderful.

My amaryllis that was supposed to bloom at Christmas bloomed during Holy Week and kept blooming — four magnificent blooms and then a second stalk.  My fish scale tropical plant is supposed to bloom in southern climates when it is outside.  Mine is in my office and just finished offering one flower after another.  And now here is my Christmas cactus showing off its snow-colored offerings.

What gifts from beyond these have been — certainly not the result of anything I did.  They are blooming when they decide to — not on any particular schedule.  They have surprised me with their appearing and with their beauty.  They have moved me away from getting lost in the unexpected difficult places into a place of giving thanks to God for the wonder that moves us even in the midst of hard things into a posture of praise.  Thanks be to God.