I subscribe to a newsletter from an organization called the Transforming Center and while this is primarily intended for those in spiritual leadership, i have found it to be very illuminating and edifying in my life.
However, I have always struggled to successfully implement the recommended practices into my own life. Somehow, the tempo and melody of my life don't allow for the refined orderliness that the adoption of consistent practices requires, nevertheless, my heart and soul yearn for the benefits of said practices. I know that the right response to such a statement is that "if you desired it badly enough, you would find a way to bring the practices into your own life", and i cannot say that i disagree with that. But, i have found to my great delight that even in my odd-meter life, a way has been made for me to find moments of silence and solitude - even amid the noise and the crowds.That is simply a witness once again to the baffling economy of God. The same God who thought that it would be perfect if the Saviour of the world was born in a stable housing farm animals, to an unmarried young woman. The same God who thought that the first people to bear witness to this amazing event should be lowly shepherds, who in those days were considered so unrealiable with the truth that they were barred from bearing witness in court - brilliant plan!
The same God who fed 5,000 plus with five loaves and two fish - and still had food leftover! The God who led the people of Israel around the wilderness for 40 years when they could have been in the Promised Land in about two weeks via the direct route. The same God who allowed Jacob's heart to be broken at the thought of having lost his favorite son, Joseph as a meal for wild animals, when in truth, he was transported to Egypt for a much greater purpose than being a favorite son of one Jewish father.
The point is, that we will never be able to figure out how God is going to manage our lives and the lives of those around us, but we can be absolutely certain of the fact that He sees every single aspect of our existence, knows the desires of our heart, and is perfectly capable of bringing it to pass according to His perfect will. All that He looks for from us is the willingness to let Him make it happen. Sometimes learning to let Him be in charge takes 40 years of wilderness wandering. Sometimes, like the woman desperate for healing, it merely requires gently grazing the hem of his garment as He passes by, to be fully restored.
More often than not, my life has consisted of brief grazes of the hem but even those have been magnificently rich in their transforming power. While i still desire to have a life with ordered times of silence and solitude, i know that for my Lord, turning my feeble and fleeting moments into epic sabbaticals is no challenge. He can find a way for me through the thickets and thistles of my life to meet with Him. How can I do anything but accept them with a joyfully grateful heart?
