Being Surprised
Dad here, blogging from Northern California.
I am a typical type A personality who likes things planned and laid out. On this business trip for the ministry a couple of opportunities were in place ahead of time, but a lot of things fell through. I was a bit disappointed initially, because I don’t like to travel unless the time is filled and productive. But before I left, I was convinced that God wanted me to trust Him and see Him work out each encounter and appointment. So what has happened so far?
At Golden Hills Christian Church, I had the opportunity to speak to the Recovery Ministry and got excellent feedback and even a little friction (from one individual, which turned out to be an excellent learning opportunity for me). To my amazement, I was asked to do some distance mentoring for a leader here, and I am overwhelmed and grateful for the opportunity. What a surprise, what a stretching process for me!
On Sat. I went to a brunch that was stimulating and challenging with leadership folks from the Recovery ministry. A great opportunity for me to work through some important truths about healing, hope, and recovery from people who have experienced addiction and new hope in Jesus. Saturday night I had a great fellowship time with some bright Asian American young adults, mostly engineers and technical folks, but the best was being with their pastor and his family for a delectable salmon dinner and even more luscious was the conversation about the challenges and joys of life.
Sunday A.M, I worshipped at Home of Christ church, Cupertino, CA and afterwards met a young woman who was visiting the church for the first time. She is pre-med student from Berkeley. She has had a heart for overseas service especially China and was struggling to find people who could help her grow in this passion. Wow, talk about divine appointments! (For those who don’t know, my wife and I planned for many years to be overseas workers in China before we moved to New Hampshire and have many friends who work in China.)
God is incredibly faithful, and He often enjoys providing an unexpected adventure for those wanting to let Him guide. I am sure glad I did.