Hurry and Cut the Grass Before the Snowstorm

I had to laugh - I've been wanting to cut the grass (it's called "mow the lawn" in some parts of the world) for about a week now
because the warmer weather made it start growing, but the situation got desperate today because of tonight's predicted snowstorm. So I went running outside and cranked up the mower, and ran it around the grass quickly.

Like the spring weather in Denver, life is unpredictable, isn't it? You never really know what's going to happen next, despite using wisdom, planning ahead and trying to meet all the contingencies. Life doesn't happen in a straight line or a steady progressive plan. The question is, how do we handle it when the sudden twists and turns come? Moses, for instance, went from being a target of infanticide to a prince to a murderer and outcast, to a leader of millions; none of it smoothly! God called Abraham to leave his home and family and travel to a new land, but his walk with God was nothing like a straight line; failures, triumphs and doubts were layered like a club sandwich through the next 50 years. And in the New Testament, the apostles and other Christian characters we get to follow around had multiple ups and downs, their frustrations as numerous as their times of seeming success. Nothing seemed to happen on a human timeline, some things taking much longer than they wanted and at other times, the Holy Spirit basically dragged them into the next new thing that they really weren't ready for yet, in their own minds at least.

Where is God in all this? The same place he's always been:  right in the middle of it all. He doesn't abandon us when we take wrong turns, because he knows we will, and he has already accounted for them. He knows how long it will take us to learn some of the lessons he knows we need, and he patiently and persistently continues teaching them to us.

When life goes sideways on us, we have a choice:  we can continue to trust and hope and look for the new advantage in what God has given us; or we can complain, try to change it all and miss out on all the joy we could have in this new adventure. It's really up to us. The Holy Spirit will continue to help us learn to see God's loving hand and wisdom in what we're going through. It's our choice to learn to listen.

We can actually learn to laugh at having to cut the grass before the snowstorm, and enjoy the great variety in the life the Lord Jesus Christ has called us into! We may as well, because it will happen anyway, and laughing will help us enjoy it more. What do you say?