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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Finding God In Everyday Life"
June 5, 2008
Welcome to my world. This week I was speaking to a group at the
Pendleton Health & Rehabilitation Center in Mystic. The group regularly
reads my column and discusses it on Thursday mornings in their
devotional time. Since they had me there, someone asked me how I came
up with my columns each week. I told them that things just happen.
The truth is that I actually feel a little bit like Forest Gump. I walk into
situations or bump into people and a story idea develops. So what makes
them interesting? A friend pointed out to me that we all have these
serendipitous moments but most of us let them go by without much
analysis. He told me that it was my ability to find God in every day things
that made all the difference. That's true but I think we all have the ability to
do so if we try. That's why I started writing these "epistles" to my friends
over six years ago. I wanted to inspire them to look for God in the events
of their every day lives.
For example I went to the bank today to get a little money. I only needed
$40 but I wasn't sure how much was available because we had just paid a
bunch of bills. The truth is I was hoping I wouldn't get declined when I
put in my redicash card. The money came out. I got my card back. I
grabbed my receipt to look at how much money was left and I almost fell
over. The statement said I had $13,007 available.
My first thought was that I had tapped someone else's account. There was
a woman at the machine before I took my turn. Maybe it was her money!
That didn't make sense though because I put in my password to make it
work. That's when my wheels began turning. Where did the money come
from? I was feeling bankrupt when I went to the bank, but in reality I had
more money than I needed. It reminded me of the way God provides for
us. When we are weak, God is strong. When we are lacking, God has all
we need. When we can't take another step, God picks us up and carries us
forward.
Then it occurred to me that our loan may have come through for our
daughter's college tuition bill. The amount of money seemed right. That
meant that although the money was in our account, it didn't really belong to
us. It was designated for a very special purpose. The wheels started
turning again. It made me think of the way God gives us gifts and talents
to use. He calls on us to reach out with his message of love. He calls on us
to feed the hungry, clothe the poor and provide shelter for the homeless.
We are stewards of God's gifts. They are in our accounts but they are to
be used for his glory.
I realized that I wasn't going to know where that money came from for
sure unless I went to the source and asked about it. You thought I was
talking about the bank? No. I drove over to Lori's work and asked her if
she knew about this money. She affirmed the fact that this was indeed
tuition money for Sarah and UCONN would be very unhappy if I decided
to go out and buy a new car. As I was driving away from Greenville Drug
Store, I was reminded that if we have questions about God that we have an
authority that we can go to as well. All we need to do is open up the Bible.
All the answers are there.
Well there you have it. It's pretty easy to find God and come up with a
devotional thought if you are open to looking for Him. All you have to do is
try. So I guess I had better start writing or else they'll be calling you for
next week's article. Of course, I could just submit this one and let you in
on my secret.
God bless. See you in church.
Cal
June 5, 2008
Welcome to my world. This week I was speaking to a group at the
Pendleton Health & Rehabilitation Center in Mystic. The group regularly
reads my column and discusses it on Thursday mornings in their
devotional time. Since they had me there, someone asked me how I came
up with my columns each week. I told them that things just happen.
The truth is that I actually feel a little bit like Forest Gump. I walk into
situations or bump into people and a story idea develops. So what makes
them interesting? A friend pointed out to me that we all have these
serendipitous moments but most of us let them go by without much
analysis. He told me that it was my ability to find God in every day things
that made all the difference. That's true but I think we all have the ability to
do so if we try. That's why I started writing these "epistles" to my friends
over six years ago. I wanted to inspire them to look for God in the events
of their every day lives.
For example I went to the bank today to get a little money. I only needed
$40 but I wasn't sure how much was available because we had just paid a
bunch of bills. The truth is I was hoping I wouldn't get declined when I
put in my redicash card. The money came out. I got my card back. I
grabbed my receipt to look at how much money was left and I almost fell
over. The statement said I had $13,007 available.
My first thought was that I had tapped someone else's account. There was
a woman at the machine before I took my turn. Maybe it was her money!
That didn't make sense though because I put in my password to make it
work. That's when my wheels began turning. Where did the money come
from? I was feeling bankrupt when I went to the bank, but in reality I had
more money than I needed. It reminded me of the way God provides for
us. When we are weak, God is strong. When we are lacking, God has all
we need. When we can't take another step, God picks us up and carries us
forward.
Then it occurred to me that our loan may have come through for our
daughter's college tuition bill. The amount of money seemed right. That
meant that although the money was in our account, it didn't really belong to
us. It was designated for a very special purpose. The wheels started
turning again. It made me think of the way God gives us gifts and talents
to use. He calls on us to reach out with his message of love. He calls on us
to feed the hungry, clothe the poor and provide shelter for the homeless.
We are stewards of God's gifts. They are in our accounts but they are to
be used for his glory.
I realized that I wasn't going to know where that money came from for
sure unless I went to the source and asked about it. You thought I was
talking about the bank? No. I drove over to Lori's work and asked her if
she knew about this money. She affirmed the fact that this was indeed
tuition money for Sarah and UCONN would be very unhappy if I decided
to go out and buy a new car. As I was driving away from Greenville Drug
Store, I was reminded that if we have questions about God that we have an
authority that we can go to as well. All we need to do is open up the Bible.
All the answers are there.
Well there you have it. It's pretty easy to find God and come up with a
devotional thought if you are open to looking for Him. All you have to do is
try. So I guess I had better start writing or else they'll be calling you for
next week's article. Of course, I could just submit this one and let you in
on my secret.
God bless. See you in church.
Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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