Several weeks ago, during our all staff chapel, those in
attendance were given sheets of paper that had various questions to be
discussed at our tables. One of the questions was do you like surprises. As
different people shared their responses to surprises it came time for my
co-worker Kenda to share. She mentioned a couple of years ago how one morning
she was in the shower getting ready for work. As she was washing her hair, she
begins to feel something moving at her feet. For a second she discounts it, but
a moment later she realizes there is no mistaking that something is wiggling
and touching her feet. As she quickly washes the soap out of her eyes she looks
down and sees a snake in the shower with her!
Now, can we pause here just a moment…
I mean really! A snake in the shower! You could probably
think of a dozen things you might expect to see in a shower, but I would
venture to say that a snake would be among the last on that list. What would
you have done if you were in that situation? I have a cousin who is deathly
afraid of snakes and if she were in that shower she would have unashamedly, and
as quickly as possible, ran out of that house wearing nothing but soap suds!
Talk about a surprise, right?
With us still at the front end of the New Year I have been
pondering this idea of surprise. Of course, being surprised can be good or bad.
One can be surprised by a dog darting out in front of you on your drive to
work. And you can be surprised by your friends and family hiding in your house
and welcoming you for your birthday as you open the door.
This year what surprising ways are you hoping for God to
show up in your life? Maybe it’s an unexpected financial gift, a new
relationship, or being cured from an ailment that has troubled you for many
years. Whatever surprise you are hoping for remember that God is a God of the
unexpected. Let’s together pray for God to show up in surprising ways.
Thankfully the snake in Kenda’s shower was a harmless grass
snake who somehow got side-tracked that morning. She was able to take care of
him in a timely manner and continued with her shower with no more wiggles at
her feet.