An Extraordinary God

This morning, I read in Mark Crumpler's daily devotional, "The deeper problem is that believers increasingly see God as “distant, indistinct, uninvolved, and ordinary."

This weekend, my college daughter and a few of her friends will be spending the night on their way to their spring break trip.  I wanted to spruce up the house with some flowers,  etc. and have recently noticed how beautiful the forsythia flowers are this time of year.This morning, I was driving through the neighborhood and noticed a yard that had a forsythia bush blooming the size of a small mountain. I then saw a neighbor walking by the yard, and I told her that I was wanting to cut some of that forsythia. (That neighbor recently joined me for the IF: Table where we talk, eat and share life for 2 hours/month.)  Within a minute or two, she called and said that she had gotten permission for me "to cut as much as I want."

Now, I realize that a friend's phone call on my behalf and cutting a neighbor's quince doesn't seem like a God-sized miracle. However as I was thinking it through, I think that my small step in obedience in starting an IF:Table, and forming deeper relationships with neighbors, led me to the sweet gift of getting some free beautiful God-created flowers to celebrate my daughter and her friends.

At our last IF: Table, I read this from Henri Nowen, "We all need to eat and drink to stay alive. But having a meal is more than eating and drinking. It is celebrating the gifts of life we share. A meal together is one of the most intimate and sacred human events. Around the table we become vulnerable, filling one anothers’ plates and cups and encouraging one another to eat and drink. Much more happens at a meal than satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. Around the table we become family, friends, community, yes, a body.That is why it is so important to 'set' the table. Flowers, candles, colorful napkins all help us to say to one another, "This is a very special time for us, let's enjoy it!”

So, as I believer on this beautiful ordinary day, I increasingly think God is closer than we think, very involved and extraordinary!  Be on the lookout for Him today!