Off To a Ragged Start

Our 22-year-old son had emergency surgery on Saturday, just two days before time to leave.  Thanks so much for those of you who knew and have been praying.  Fortunately, all went well and he is quite stable.  But, we are off to a ragged start to a long trip, no doubt about it: many hours in the hospital, less sleep than expected, grab and throw everything that was almost packed into suitcases, and jump on the shuttle at 3:45 AM Monday taking us to the airport in Los Angeles.  Whew!  A ragged start! But it makes one think!  Jesus said, “In this world you will have many ragged starts.”  Okay, those were , not his exact words; he said we would have “trouble.”  But, what is up with that?  Trouble.  Ragged starts.  I so often expect that Jesus will work according to my expectations of comfort and ease: “In this world, you will have idyllic starts only.”  Or, “In this world you will have stress-free experiences.”  But no, He promises “trouble.”  Ragged starts. Sometimes my whole life feels ragged and I can fall into that place of discouragement because of it: “God is not at work, I’m on my own, nothing good can come of this, yada, yada… “ Ragged starts and ragged lives can become a seedbed for disillusionment.  I have walked in this far too often. Mercifully, there is more to Jesus’ promise than just “trouble..”  He goes on to say:  “Take courage, I have overcome the world.”  So in the world I will have troubles and ragged starts but God is at work to fulfill His purposes and plans fully and sovereignly through it all. Hmmm…  So maybe the surgery for my son is about more than it seems.  It could be about an opportunity for this young man to start paying attention to God in a fresh way.  That could be more than a good thing; that could be a great thing.  And maybe, as we launch out on this five week trip, the ragged start is a reminder that we are not in control of our plans, our strategies, or any aspect of the work we hope to see God accomplish.  This could be a great starting place saving us much grief as we make far more room for the Spirit to take control, lead, and guide.  It could be that a ragged start is exactly what we need. This strikes me as a superbly true yet challenging thought that, for today at least, I am going to go with and believe: ragged starts, with God, can be the seedbed for His purposes to perfectly unfold… We will keep you posted and let you know how that faith-attitude holds up!