I witnessed a miracle yesterday. 

But before I tell you about it, here's a question: Have you noticed that sometimes life piles up you?  No matter how well you're managing your life, how good you are at juggling all your responsibilities, sometimes life just throws something unexpected your way, and you start to drop some balls. Sometimes, just after you've gotten all your little ducks in a row, along comes some "turkey" and scatters them! :-) It doesn't have to be a major interruption or tragic event, just extra or unexpected.  Even good opportunities, pleasant surprises can throw us off schedule...

And that's my excuse for missing at least two weeks of writing these e-reflections, and being late on this one.  (At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

It happens to everyone in this busy, complicated world we live in.  The truth is, we simply have to learn to live with it. But the interesting question is to look at what balls we drop, which little ducks we let go when life piles up on us like that. My observation is that for many folks it's often the most important things we let go, things that usually don't present themselves as the most urgent need, especially in those tiny crisis moments of temporary overload --- things like eating healthy, getting exercise, time with our family, and most of all perhaps, time and attention given to our relationship with God. Personal devotional time; slowing down enough to ask what God is doing, to look for where God is in the midst of our frenzy of activity; perhaps even attending worship with God's people --- these are often the life-practices that get squeezed out of over-stressed schedules, that get dropped off (or never make it on to!) our too-long to-do lists. And to be honest -- as you might guess -- this is not a disinterested scientific observation, but comes from personal experience.

So here I am down at Columbia Theological Seminary for two weeks of Study Leave (A course called "The Theology and Practice of the Missionary Congregation" - food for future thought and reflection). What a great place for me to reassert the some of the key priorities of life into my daily routine --- "early to bed, early to rise," unhurried time with the Lord in the cool of the morning on a quiet garden bench outside our dorm, daily noon time chapel, thought-provoking, faith-building reading. There's no grass to cut, no garbage to take out, no errands to run, no stack of phone messages to answer. So very few extra distractions or unexpected interruptions. But even here, it's possible to let the urgent crowd out the important.

I woke a little later yesterday morning that I planned, and since I just had time to get to breakfast at 7:30 and felt the need to get right back to working my assignment due Monday morning immediately afterward, I was tempted to "reschedule" my morning devotional time for later.  But I didn't, and so it wasn't until nearly 9:30 that I dove into my project. A quick break at 10:00 to refill my coffee thermos, and I was right back at it. By the time I looked up from my laptop, it was 11:59. Noon chapel begins in a minute. Should I go...? I need to keep working. I'm on a roll. It would be a shame to stop the flow of creative juices..., I'll go to chapel.  Somehow, I feel obligated. Fortunately, chapel is just around the corner and up the stairs from my room. I make there in time for the last verse of the opening hymn. "Rejoice the Lord is King! ... Lift up your heart, lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say rejoice!" As we sit back down, I look at my bulletin. It says, "Service of Word and Table." It's a communion service! and in a few moments, we enter into a beautiful liturgy of spoken, sung and enacted words. And as so often happens to me at celebrations of the Lord's Supper, I'm suddenly surprised that I'm in God's presence!

That's the miracle. It's a miracle of grace, that when we attend to the things that really matter, in spite of the tyranny of the urgent, God surprises us with blessings that really matter, and by taking care of all the other things that matter a lot, and that don't matter so much. It's back to that promise around which I try to order my life, and of which I have to be reminded again and again, "Seek first the reign of God, and God's righteousness, and everything else will be taken care of for you." (Matthew 6:33, my paraphrase).

So this weekend, and this week, you may have to drop some balls, let a few of your little ducks get out of line, but don't miss the things that really count.

Seeking Christ's Kingdom with you,

Pastor Erwin

By the way, Gary's bringing a message this Sunday from Jonah and Matthew's great commission. (Do you know where to find that in the New Testament?) And we'll be commissioning all those from our church who are helping out with the Billy Graham Mission this week. (Do you have plans to go, and take a friend or neighbor with you?  We'll be providing transportation for Saturday night and Sunday night.  Make your plans this Sunday --- as long as it doesn't make you drop the wrong balls.)