I am grateful for memories of singing “Arky Arky” with my young students and with the girls when they were little.

I am grateful for one piece of bread that was left over to feed the birds this morning.

I am grateful that there is no AC in the house right now and I am not so pampered as to need it.

I am grateful for memories of Karissa’s first birthday, complete with a Rainbow Brite cake.

I am grateful for room in my pants.

I am grateful for little bunny cookie cutters that my boss bought for me. They arrived yesterday, just in time to make some little cookies for my grandchildren before I leave tomorrow morning.

I am grateful that I do not walk like the “shuffler,” the “can’t walk normal in high heels-er,” or the “flip-flop slapper.”  But I wonder what it is I do that drives other people crazy.

I am grateful that the ironing is done and the corner of the room is once again uncluttered.

I am grateful that today is “Friday” at work for me and tomorrow I go to Texas for two days to spend Mother’s Day weekend with my daughter and her family. 

And I am grateful that there are people in my church who are gifted in story-telling and sharing their lives in a way that inspires those who listen and read, and I am grateful for the way my pastor is challenging me to re-think the WAY I have always heard the story of Noah’s ark, to realize the deeper meaning and the messages that are so valuable to my own defining story.  This was part of this morning’s devotions, and it is so worth reading:

Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as a Human Resources Specialist.

I’ve got a treat for you! My week has looked like a tilt-a-whirl on rapid speed, so my awesome husband, Brandon, volunteered to write today’s insight. Enjoy!

 

In the Genesis account, God spoke to Noah and laid out a pretty detailed plan for what Noah was supposed to do. God made clear his intentions, told Noah what materials to use, how to prepare them, and even gave exact dimensions for the ark. There are a lot of days I wish I got something resembling a blueprint from God, but that’s exactly what Noah got. Over the years, reading this story, I got a little jealous–why couldn’t God just give me some blueprints?

But there are a few big things missing from the picture. I’ve actually been on a few cruises in my lifetime, and the first thing you get, before you get near the boat, before you even pick out a cruise, is an itinerary. You know exactly where you’re going, you know when you’re going to be there, you know what you’re going to be doing there, and, most importantly, you know where and when you’ll be at the end of the voyage.

Noah didn’t have a nice little sheet that he could reference on his voyage.

“Let’s see, day thirty-eight: rain. Day thirty-nine: rain and gale-force winds. Day forty: rain and high waves. And then, Key West!”

God gave some very clear plans as to why Noah had to act, and how he had to prepare, but Noah had no idea where he was going, when it would end, or what would be waiting on the other side. I imagine Noah, on day 41, coming to the sinking realization that even though the rains had stopped as God said, it would be a long time before all that water went anywhere. Day 60 rolls around, and he starts to panic. Day 80 is when I imagine he realizes that God never really said anything about the end of the journey–He just told Noah how to prepare, and that he would make it through.

That part of the story makes a lot of sense to me.

I was 23, living in Florida, pretty fresh out of college, still trying to figure out what on earth to do with my life. At the time, God’s calling on my life seemed to be caring for people the best I could, reaching out to the outsiders, and playing lots of music–great preparation, I thought, but I had no idea what for.

I met a girl who lived in Kansas City, we hit it off, and within a few months, I started packing things into the young college graduate’s version of an ark: a ’96 Ford Taurus sedan into which I packed my every earthly belonging. Things had fallen together so quickly with the promise of a job as a worship leader at a small church in the area and a place to stay that I went from a blissful Florida resident with no plans of moving to a blissful Kansas resident with no roots in a span of a handful of weeks. I didn’t have room to bring much–mostly clothes, books, and musical instruments.

Moving to a new city in which you know only one person is hard. Metaphorically, it rained on me. Three months later, I found out that my job as a worship leader fell through and I lost that. And it rained some more. And just like Noah, I realized that I had no promise about the end of the journey. I had filled in some of those gaps with my imagination, of course, which just made the realization harder. And it rained some more.

In the Genesis account, Noah spent five months on that ark, drifting aimlessly with no end in sight, wondering some days if he would ever set his feet on solid land again.

I’m not sure how long I drifted, because my journey to solid land was much more gradual, but I eventually got there. I took a job as a web designer at a local agency out of desperation and slowly began to set down some new roots. And over the years, God’s master plan was slowly revealed to me.

That girl I met in Kansas City? She’s now my beautiful wife. Together, we did things like plan benefit concerts to help stop human trafficking, help provide job training for kids graduating out of the foster system, and provide support for our church’s efforts in Malawi and beyond. We’ve since adopted our son through the foster system and I have an amazing family.

Those musical instruments I brought up here with me? I’m still playing them. I’m currently volunteering to help lead worship at three of our church campuses, sometimes playing up to four services a week.

That job in web design? I eventually became a manager and used my position to help as many people as I could. It opened the doors for some amazing relationships, and I was able to help my employees through some very difficult times in their lives.

None of that was a part of the initial promise that brought me here. God made sure I was prepared and promised that I would live to see the voyage through to completion, that I would live to tell His tale. My imagination had initially filled in the gaps, but I see now that God’s plan was much bigger than my dreams.

As for the end of the journey? I don’t know. Maybe I can tell you later. All I know now is that I’m glad I’m along for the ride, and that I know God won’t leave me unprepared for wherever I’m going.