Sunday afternoon, in a hurry to get my things together for basketball, I put on my running shoes and left my basketball shoes by the door. As I drove by a familiar place on the way to the gym (the Nabisco factory), I looked down at the floor of the passenger seat and realized I didn’t have my basketball shoes. At this point I was too far to turn around without being late. But I’d never played in my running shoes. This is a bad sign, I thought. Despite my reservations, I kept going and played anyway. It turns out, I was lighter on my feet than ever before. One of the other guys joked, hey Sam, you should wear those shoes every week.
A few days ago I sat in my office paying bills and updating our budget for Q4. As they say, the math wasn’t mathing. I’ll be there for a conference, but I might as well gamble a little bit, right? Suddenly, a text message came through. It was from a friend and former colleague. Almost 3 years ago to the day, she’d called me out of the blue to say that she had a dream about me. Her school was in trouble and they needed an interim school leader to help transition them for the rest of the year. I was in between gigs, looking for a new challenge. Now, here she was offering me another job. Right on time, right?
I’m re-reading the story of Moses, and a verse (in The Message Translation) caught my eye:
And the people trusted and listened believingly that GOD was concerned with what was going on. What’s that now? The same people who had been in captivity for hundreds of years? What did they have to believe in? All they’d seen was trouble and more trouble right?
I’ve probably read this story dozens of times over the years, but I’ve never really keyed in on this verse before until now. This is what the writer of Exodus records after Moses returns and tells the people that God sent him and Aaron to deliver the people. And then he proved it with signs and wonders.
That point.
Because after being in captivity for so long, they needed something to believe in.
And God didn’t just send a person, with an idea. He also sent some signs.
Signs, they’re everywhere.
Depending on where you look, the signs are either telling you that everything will work out or that the world is on fire and we’re all in trouble. But how do we discern the difference? I think it depends on what you’re looking for. Hope and despair both leave their own set of signals.
One of the young fellas that we hoop with on Sundays just experienced a tough breakup. The older guys, those of us in our 40s+ and married with kids, tried to console him, but you could tell it on his face the whole evening. He was just kind of lost. Many of us have been there, heartbroken and wondering how things will come together again. Nothing’s going to heal that pain except time. But eventually, he’ll start to see the seeds of hope everywhere, if he keeps looking.
That’s why my personal prayer for years has been: help me to be open, flexible, and gracious. Openness helps me maintain a posture of curiosity, even when I don’t want to be. You miss good things when your mind is closed off to seeing them. Flexibility allows me to change my mind and combats my naturally rigid posture. Sometimes I’ll literally stretch my body through yoga in the mornings on a particularly tough day as a way to remind myself that I might need to adapt my way through this one. Finally, grace is my ace in the hole. It’s the gift I offer myself and others when things just don’t work out. Usually, I’m the one who needs it the most.
SDW3
everyday fatherhood 