I could end right there, as that statement doesn't really need further exclamation. HOWEVER, I personally enjoy hearing stories from other people about how God has shown His awesomeness, so I am going to share one of my own with you so that you too can be blown away by how He works.
And I love that He works in the "little," "normal," "typical" things of our everyday lives. He really does care about the details. That's what makes His work even more awesome.
Saturday, we went to church. We knew that our pastor would be giving his "state of the church address" or a vision message for the year. However, I didn't really expect anything too out of the ordinary or mind-blowing (maybe I should though, since we were going to get together with other believers madly in love with Jesus to worship Him and when that happens God does some pretty radical things).
We listened to announcements and enjoyed Jon's humor. Typical.
We sang some songs. And I entered God's presence and could sense His Spirit speaking to my heart. But that isn't out of the ordinary, thankfully.
The kids were dismissed for children's church. The adults chatted a bit. I went to the bathroom. Normal. Normal. Normal.
I sat back down and the screen came up with the title of Pastor Michael's message: Kairos Moments. That's when I did a double take and realized God was doing something extraordinary here. He was at work. His fingerprints were all over the "little" details. He had been behind the scenes making sure the timing was just right, that everything fell into place just so. Pastor Michael hadn't said a word yet, and God was already talking to me. Screaming, really. And He had my full attention.
Wait a second? What's so special about a regular ol' title screen for a sermon?
I'm so glad you asked. :)
On Friday, I had been perusing facebook -- something I do periodically throughout the day. No big deal. A friend shared a link to an article a mom had written about how she didn't "Carpe Diem." I have been on this big "enjoy every moment, make special memories while I can" kick, so I wanted to check out what this lady had to say and why she didn't feel the need to seize the day. Did she know something I didn't? Was I going about life all wrong?
The mom shared about how seemingly every time she would be out with her kids an older woman would comment about how she needed to enjoy every moment with them because the time would fly by quickly or something of that nature. Like most moms, this mother of three didn't truly enjoy every moment of parenting, especially not when she was in the long check-out line at the grocery store and her kids were behaving more like little devils than little angels. In response to the elderly lady's good-natured and well-intended remark, this mom shared how she was lucky enough to "carpe fifteen minutes in a row" and fell asleep exhausted at the end of the day. Her plan: instead of trying to live so intensely and feel like a failure if she didn't attack life with gusto 24/7, this woman looked for "God moments" throughout her day. These could be times when she really stopped to notice how beautiful her little girl was or when she didn't mind waiting in the check-out line because she realized her cart was full of groceries and she had the money to pay for them. Granted, these moments are fleeting, BUT she chose to seize them. And not just that, but to look for them and be intentional about appreciating them.
To do this, the mom pointed out, you have to understand that there are two kinds of time.
The first kind is chronos and deals with the minute-by-minute ticking of the clock. We moms often get caught up in this time frame. Didn't I just pick up those toys 5 minutes ago? Seriously, 28 minutes on hold with the insurance people? How much longer until nap time? When will Daddy be home from work? Bed time is when again?
The second kind kairos and deals with God's view of time. This is when God, who is above time, steps into our world and works within our time frame. We moms need to live here more often. Doing so requires slowing down and actually thinking about what we are doing and who we are doing it for -- most often our husbands and kiddos, whom we dearly love. Kairos means that we have to look and listen for God to work, sometimes in still quiet ways. Actually, that is usually how He does things -- His fingerprints are all over the "little," "typical, "normal" every day activities of our lives.
We just have to get out of chronos to notice the kairos.
I read the article and didn't think anything more about it, except that the woman had made some extremely good points. I really didn't do the article justice in my attempt to summarize it, so you should just read it for yourself. 2011 Lesson #2: Don't Carpe Diem from momastery.com
Then, I get to church, look up at the screen, and realize that I actually know the Greek word in the message title! Like I said, Pastor Michael hadn't even opened his mouth, and I was on the edge of my seat with excitement, eagerly anticipating what he was going to say and find out how God was going to connect the article I had read the day before with what our church's theme for the year ahead is.
Pastor Michael didn't pick a special passage for his sermon; he just continued our way through Luke. We happened to be in chapter 9, verses 28-36. That would be the record of Jesus' transfiguration. Peter, James, and John go up on a mountain with Jesus and before their very eyes He is transformed, everything starts glowing, and Moses and Elijah show up to talk with Jesus about His death (all of things). The three disciples are speechless, except for Peter who suggests building tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. And even he doesn't really know what he's saying; he is just so blown away by God's glory that he doesn't want to leave.
The message was really good, and Pastor Michael explained how the event would have been super important to the Jews in proving who Jesus was and what He had come to earth to do. Like the article, I can't really do his sermon justice. You should check it out though. (It wasn't up when I wrote this post, but I am sure it will be soon. Just go to desperationchurch.org. It will seriously be worth your time!)
Pastor Michael's main point was that this was a kairos moment, a moment when God kind of stopped time and made Himself known in a supernatural and radical way. He emphasized that God doesn't always work like this, in big obvious ways. More often than not, God uses the "little," "typical," "normal" every day activities of our lives. We just have to be paying attention. Life is hard, but God is at work. And when He makes Himself known like this, when He gives us a kairos moment, we need to seize it. We need to grab hold of it and use it to help us through the rough parts of life. When things get difficult and we feel like we are stuck in chronos, we look back and remember that kairos moment. We are encouraged and realize that God is at work, that He has everything under control. And we push forward.
And so I have a new outlook, kind of. I still want to enjoy every moment and make special memories and all that, BUT I don't want to get so caught up in seizing the day that I am too busy to see God at work in the "little," "typical," "normal" activities of my life. I want to be attentive to what God is doing, to catch those kairos moments and hold onto them for all they are worth. Like yesterday when Coralyn was watching an episode of Diego and she was smiling ear to ear as she danced and clapped her hands and sang in Spanish along with the animals on the show. Or today when Kellah grabbed my finger and held onto it while she was nursing. These aren't big, huge mountain-top moments, although God does give me those kind of burning bush, radiant light shining so brightly you can't see moments too. Like last month when some people from our church gave us an envelope full of money. Either way, God stepped into my world and let me know that He is at work, that He cares about all the details of my life -- big and small.
He most certainly made that evident to me when a random article I read on Friday dealt with the exact same thing He had laid on my pastor's heart to speak about on Saturday, and to have as the theme for our church for the entire year! That was definitely a kairos moment!
I realize this may seem silly or insignificant, but it is huge to me. I am just blown away by the way God is at work, how He is speaking to me and guiding me, especially recently. I really feel like I can sense His presence, and I love that. At the same time it is scary because God is so much bigger than I can even begin to fathom. His ways are not my ways; His thoughts are not my thoughts. Oh no, they are far beyond my wildest dreams. Like I read last week (and blogged about) in Ephesians 3:20-21, "God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us..." Guess what today's encouraging word is on K-Love? Yep, you guessed it. And then I also think of the verse, "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human mind has conceived of the wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:8-10). And so, I am left with my mouth hanging open as I wonder at the ways God is at work in my life. I still have no idea what the year ahead holds for me, for my family, but I do know that God is present and that He has everything figured out, down to the tiniest of details.
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