I'm loving surprises!

I've always loved surprises!  When I was little, I used to love it when my parents would surprise us by stopping at Dairy Queen on the way home from Sunday night church.  On a family vacation when I was a teenager, we stopped at a little town called Hilton Head.  That little surprise started a love affair with the South Carolina coast that has lasted to this day.  I will qualify that I like "good" surprises.  Not such a fan of "bad" surprises.  Like the cop who just happens to pull out behind me while I'm driving my car with expired tags or the surprise of the toilet stopping up right after you flush.  But those are blogs for another day and yes, they both have interesting stories behind them.

Paul walked around the house and called me.  "Beth, have you walked around to the side of the house and seen what's there?"  Well, I have several times because I planted two hydrangea bushes there last year and I've been checking to make sure they're coming back. I've had a really hard time with hydrangea bushes.  Apparently, they need water to survive!  But while I was focusing on my hydrangea bushes, I didn't see what was happening right around the corner.   Aren't they beautiful?  I think my mom planted them sometime.  She's great about doing stuff like that. 

That same day Paul and I decided to drop everything and surprise the kids by taking them on a weekend trip.  We walked through a cave that was very far under the ground.  They showed us the tunnel that the man and his wife had to crawl through to reach the cavern.  In the cavern, they found a beautiful waterfall. Can you imagine what it must have been like crawling and walking through that cave with only lamplight and hearing the rush of water and coming up on this.  It must have been an amazing sight (minus the purple lights, of course.)

One night, a group of men were on a boat in the middle of the water.  It was late and the winds start blowing.  In the midst of their fear, Jesus came.

One day, two sisters were mourning for their brother.  In the midst of their sorrow, Jesus came.

One morning, a woman walked up to a tomb to find it empty.  In the midst of her confusion and grief, Jesus came.

The surprise isn't that Jesus was there but how He chose to work.  He walked on water, he raised the dead, he transcends death.  As Christians, we sometimes get caught up in the situation and forget the anticipation of what God can do.  We tend to put our limitations on God.  Like the men in the boat who would have been happy enough to make it across safely, we don't think creatively enough.  And even when we have enough faith, like Martha, (I wish I didn't relate to her so much) who was upset that Jesus didn't get there early enough to heal her brother, we don't think big enough.  Like Mary, so lost in her grief, wanting to minister to her friend even in his death, we don't think joyfully enough. 

In your fear, he will surprise you!  In your mourning, he will surprise you!  In your confusion and sorrow, he will surprise you!  Remember, the surprise isn't that he's there with you but How He Chooses to Answer!