God pause...

I've learned a lot in the past thirty years. I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned a whole lot more about God. Thirty years ago, I believed in coincidence. When I was twenty five, I thought that chance encounters were just that. Thirty years ago, I would smile when an out-of-touch friend called "just because" when I was having a bad day and I would think, "What are the odds of that?"

In the years since, I have learned to look for God in the circumstances of my everyday life.  I realize his intimate care in orchestrating and protecting me in my day to day activities. I no longer see interruptions and unexpected delays as inconveniences and irritants. I see these events as, what I like to call, God pauses.

Yesterday, I encountered a dual purpose God pause.

First, a brief history. Over the past year and a half, I've spent a lot of time doing what many fifty-somethings are doing:  caring for an aging parent. Over the last eighteen months, my mom has endured two back surgeries, two foot surgeries and suffered multiple mini-strokes. These health issues demanded endless doctor's visits, daily phone calls and hours spent running errands. Last week, my sisters and I discussed talking with my mom about the possibility of moving to a senior independent living community. We decided if the opportunity arose, any one of us would broach the subject with mom, otherwise we would talk to her together as a group this summer.

Yesterday, I met my mom at her podiatrist for what was yet to be another setback. The latest infection needed an antibiotic for which the doctor called in a prescription. Mom would need to stay home bound for the remainder of the week. As we exited the doctor's office, I spotted a bench in the lobby area of the main building. I felt compelled to sit there with my mom. Shaking off the feeling, I continued to walk with my mom toward the exit. Yet again I felt drawn to the bench. This time, I gave in and invited my mom to sit and have a chat.

"This is my opportunity to talk to mom about independent living," I thought. We sat on that bench and had a great conversation about this new housing possibility. But it turns out that while God afforded us the time for our chat, he also had another plan for this fifteen minute interruption. His plan was to keep my mom out of harm's way. As it turns out, if mom had left immediately following her appointment, she would have arrived at and would have been waiting for her prescription at precisely the same time that a robbery was taking place at that exact location.

Coincidence? Hardly. God pause? Exactly.

The next time you receive an unexpected phone call at just the right time; the next time you're angry at being delayed by a long line or that long coal train or your child taking forever to tie his shoes; the next time you're passed up for the new job or promotion; thank God for his God pause. 

He's got you covered.

2 Samuel 22: 31-32

“As for God, his way is perfect:
    The Lord’s word is flawless;
    he shields all who take refuge in him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
    And who is the Rock except our God?