Monday, September 04, 2006

Lessons From the Fair

We did our annual visit to the IPE (Armstrong Fair) this weekend. We had a great time, although my feet are still sore from the hours of standing in line so that the kids wouldn't have to wait as long for their next 60 second ride. We had a great time with my parents and Barb's aunt and uncle watching the rodeo and cheering on the competitors.

This might not be profound for some of you, but it keeps coming back to my mind so I've decided to pass it on to you. As you can imagine, parking was insane on the Saturday of the Long Weekend at the fair. Without exaggeration, there were cars parked everywhere. On sidewalks, boulevards, and in clearly posted no parking zones. As we walked up to the main gate 4 police cars pulled up to oversee the towing of about 10 Harley Davidson motorcycles. It looked like something out of a movie. When we left to get something to eat, we saw the same tow truck working on a group of cars that had double parked and blocked people in. My guess is that there were some pretty unhappy people at the end of the night when they were trying to get home.

You are undoubtedly wondering what I might have seen in the removal of improperly parked vehicles that could have spiritual implications, so here it is... I keep thinking about the Sovereignty of God in this simple illustration. Sometimes we "park" ourselves in places where we think it's just not going to matter in the grand scheme of things or maybe we "double-park" because we think we can get away with it. Sometimes it's a matter of being rebellious, sometimes it's just a matter of becoming stale and stagnant. Whatever the case, I see God getting involved to move us to where we are supposed to be. I don't see this as punitive or even judgmental from God's perspective as much as I see Him moving us to the places that we need to be to fulfill His purposes for our lives. This is an expression of His love for us and an illustration of His commitment to:

A) Work all things out for our good and
B) To continue the good work that He has begun in us until the day of completion.

Like the people who came out looking for their towed cars on Saturday night, we're not always taken with the expression of God's sovereignty in our lives. Sometimes we don't understand it and sometimes we don't even like it. But further into the journey, we are able to look back and see WHAT HE HAS DONE and WHY HE HAS DONE IT!

In that moment, we can simply stop and say "Thanks!"

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