The Thrill of the Unexpected

This post is for Ralph and Carole Huss, who gently reminded me tonight that it's been a long time since I've written anything in this blog.

Most of you know by now that Hurricane Charley hit Florida with a vengeance on Friday, August 13. I doubt any in our family will ever forget that day, especially since all the computer models were predicting the hurricane would hit the Tampa Bay area, putting Zephyrhills directly in the path of what they thought would be a category 3 hurricane. On Wednesday that week I stopped by our Super Wal-Mart to purchase some supplies, just in case the forecasters were correct. To my amazement, every single bottle of water in the entire store had been sold. All day Thursday Dan and I went from store to store trying to find batteries, water, and canned goods. We never did find any D batteries, and only found a couple packs of C batteries close to 9:00 p.m. at a K-Mart where the manager just happened to stumble on some batteries in a back closet just before we arrived. It's hard to explain the level of anxiety I had, even though I knew we were in the Lord's hands. I trusted Him completely, but, since Zephyrhills is home to 153 mobile home parks, I knew that a hurricane could drastically alter our community and our ministry for months to come.

So, when Friday arrived, I woke up early to make final preparations. All the outdoor furniture needed to come into the house and I thought I could get most of it done before anyone else even got up. After rearranging the furniture in our Florida room (which we use for a dining room), I brought in the umbrella and then began taking the cushions off the chairs to bring inside. I must admit that I was a bit annoyed when I pulled out one of the chairs and it was covered with wires, extension cords, and other "junk." I couldn't believe that Dan had left those items outside. I hastily scooped them up in my hand, thinking I'd throw them in the shed so they were out of the way, and Dan could sort them out or throw them away later. No sooner had I picked them up when something didn't feel quite right and I realized something was moving in my hand. I looked down and to my horror realized I had also picked up a very colorful snake. The bright orange and yellow markings reminded me of a copperhead I had seen once when camping with the Girl Scouts as a kid. Well, let me tell you, it didn't take me long to drop everything I was holding on to and to start hooting and hollering. I was completely "creeped out" and ran into the house, shaking and shrieking, and waking everyone up in the process. I still can't believe that I touched a snake!

It turned out that the snake was harmless -- it was a "corn snake" (part of the rat snake family). The Internet article I read told me this type of snake is easy to tame and makes a good pet. In spite of the article, the snake decided he wanted nothing to do with us (and the feeling was mutual). He was a little testy when Dan tried to get him off our patio, but he finally settled in under a downspout and waited along with the rest of us for the storm to hit.

As most of you already know, the storm wound up turning eastward and hit about 100 miles south of Tampa, sparing us the devastation we had anticipated. While my heart still breaks for the precious people of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Arcadia and elsewhere who lost their homes and security, I must admit that on Friday the 13th, I was very much relieved. All the anxiety seemed to melt away in an instant and I was grateful that God had been merciful to us.

But I think the stress of the snake is still taking its toll on me. Saturday early evening I was in my office at the church. I was alone in a fairly dark building, huddled over my computer working on Sunday's PowerPoint presentation. As usual, I was engrossed in my work. All of a sudden, though, I felt something distinct and out of place -- something furry licked my heal! I immediately thought of a rat or a raccoon or something (but not a snake). I looked down at my feet in distress and didn't see anything, but I couldn't help jumping up onto my leather chair and squealing while I did so. I was frantically trying to get to my telephone to call Dan at the house to come to my rescue when I saw the cute little face of Gladys Wright's dog peek in through my office doorway. I immediately started laughing. I hadn't heard Gladys come into the church, but I know her dog well. He (or is it she?) had just stopped in to say hello, but he usually darts all over the church, so he obviously didn't wait for me to find him. Of course, with all the yelling I was doing, I probably scared him to death. Gladys and I had a good laugh about it, but I couldn't help but think that I need some serious help. I'm just a little too uptight and jittery.

So, who cares about all this anyway? I couldn't help but think of some of the spiritual lessons to be learned from my recent experiences. How many times are we just going about our business, doing the things that seem harmless, and find ourselves with a snake in our hands (metaphorically speaking)? Maybe it's a relationship we're engrossed with, or a habit, or a lifestyle choice. We thought it was a harmless extension cord on an unused chair, but then our eyes were opened to see that it was something much more sinister. Now, I know this turned out to be a harmless snake, but I'm still not too eager to meet him again. I never would have picked up that pack of cords in the first place if I had known there was a snake in the midst, harmless or not. Most of us would never think to begin a relationship or take a certain course in our lives if we knew the ultimate outcome. But sometimes we're just not paying attention. Now for the dog. He just came to say hello and to give me a little kiss on the heal, and I went off the deep end thinking I was being tasted by a rat that wanted to eat me. Past experiences sometimes cause us to interpret anything that happens in a negative light -- to doubt the kindnesses people show to us, to fear what we can't see, to misinterpret life's events or even God's intentions. I know there's a sermon in all this somewhere. I know I need to pay more careful attention to what's going on around me (so I don't pick up another snake). I know I need to relax and not overreact to some circumstances (so I don't miss an opportunity to pet a sweet little dog the next time he comes unexpectedly to play). And I need to do the same things in my spiritual life.

Hopefully, God won't have to go to such lengths to teach me the next spiritual lesson I need to learn.

Do we need a day of rest?

In this week's TIME Magazine (August 2, 2004), an essay on the very last page by Nancy Gibbs is entitled, "And on the Seventh Day We Rested? (Maybe those old blue laws weren't so crazy after all)." The article offers historical insights into the sacredness of Sunday and the need for a day of rest -- something that has been all but forgotten in our society today.

I found it refreshing to hear from a secular perspective the importance of making one day of our hectic weeks sacred. Gibbs wrote, "... [T]he sense that Sunday is special is still wired in us, a miniature sabbatical during which to peel off the rest of the week and savor ritual, religious or otherwise: Sunday worship, Sunday football, Sunday papers, Sunday brunch, the day you call your mother, the night the family gathers around the TV to watch, once upon a time, The Wonderful World of Disney...." She concludes the article with, "In an age with no free time, we buy it through hard choices. Do we skip church so we can sleep in or skip soccer so we can go to church or find a family ritual -- cook together, read together, a Parcheesi challenge -- that we treat as sacred? That way, at least some part of Sunday faces in a different direction, whether toward heaven or toward one another."

I remember when I first became a Christian that Sunday was reserved for rest, worship and reflection. As a freshman in college, I remember not studying on Sundays, not eating in the school cafeteria on Sundays (because I would be causing someone else to work) and not doing much of anything other than attending church, reading my Bible, playing Christian choruses on my guitar and perhaps taking a much-needed nap. And many other Christians I knew did the same. Were we overly legalistic? Probably. But I can't help but think we were better off then than now.

For many people in the church, Sunday is a day just like any other day. They plan their grocery shopping on Sunday or their house cleaning or yard work, though they might attend a church service if it's convenient. When will we wake up and realize that the Sabbath (whether you consider that Saturday or Sunday) was made for us ? We need it to re-focus, re-center, refresh ourselves. It's pretty sad when the secular world starts to "get it" and the Christians shrug it off as merely a form of legalism, as something we're not bound to. I don't think God will send anyone to hell for working on Sunday, but that's not really the point, is it? It is to our benefit to make one day sacred. It's to our benefit to change the routine and spend an entire day focused on God and others. Maybe if we did that, we wouldn't have so many Christians suffering from the effects of stress and ill health. Maybe we would have more Christians whose eyes are fixed on Jesus and whose priorities reflect those of our Lord.

Too bad it takes the world to show us what is clearly revealed in Scripture. Blue laws will probably never be instituted again. No one is ever going to force us to take precious time to rest and focus on God. But no one should have to. We can do it on our own if we really want to. And why wouldn't we want to? My suggestion: give it a try. This is what God says regarding the Sabbath (His appointed day of rest):

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."