I am up late, even for me.
Liturgically, it is the season of Epiphany. This night I seem to have had one, that life can be delightfully unpredictable at times.
For years my life has taken on a routine rather more comfortable than not most of the time. Surely surprises have come along, but I count it a flaw in my character that I usually respond to those "surprises" as if they were most unpleasant interruptions in my life.
Death, and her husband Failure are like that. Their daughter Frustration intrudes often enough.
Lest I wax entirely obscure, suffice it to say that in the "Mission Field" one knows rather full well the temporary nature of apparent progress, and the persistence of cause for much humility in one's life.
I taste moments of delight in the sense of having truly helped someone find a measure of peace, comfort or growth in their present difficult circumstances.
But serving as I do among the elderly in a nursing home environment, I likewise experience often enough the grief and loss that comes at the end of life -- wherein those who for a little while did earnestly thank me for being part of their lives are suddenly no longer part of my own life.
Grief, too, can become routine. Predictable. Expected.
I cannot go into detail about particulars here, kind reader, but I do know that there can be a delightfully unpredictable element to life as well. God brings about situations in life, sometimes, that just cause one to step back and wonder at His incredible kindness.
Surely those moments are transitory too. But for now, while I have even the least bit of sensitivity and appreciation for the pleasantly unexpected things in life -- indeed, graciously, delightfully unexpected happenings, then let me remind you that these do come along too. Often enough, precisely when we happen to need them most and anticipate them the least.
