Thursday, August 19, 2010

You never know what a day may bring – Part 2

Today was pretty awesome day. You never know what a day may bring. First my wife called to let me know that she got the job she applied for within her government agency.
Shortly afterwards, I had to go to a safety training for our government agency. They talked about teamwork and showed a video documentary called the miracle of Flight 232. This was the plane crash in 1989 in which 196 out of 296 people survived.

The pilot now travels around the country and talks about the five key elements that led to so many people surviving. He listed:
1. Preparation,
2. Cooperation,
3. Communication,
4. Execution and
5. Luck

I was sitting at a table with two other Believers and we immediately began to mutter to one another that “luck” had nothing to do with it. It was GOD.

So, later in the session the instructor placed the names of each element in a bucket and each group had to blindly pick out a topic and make a presentation to the entire training audience about that element. So when the woman at our table drew out “Luck” as the topic we were to discuss, we all just laughed, because we knew this was a total set up by God.

Earlier this year, I had a God-ordained moment to speak to the entire agency when I was asked to be the MC of the African American History Month Celebration. The guest speaker did not make it, so I was asked to share a few words in his place. I never thought another moment to publically speak for God in the workplace would come again, but here it was.

We took a break and I ran up to my floor to get to my computer so I could go online and look up the definition of luck. The online dictionary defined "Luck" as the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities; good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance.

Well, I capitalized the first definition that defines luck as a force that seems to operate for good in a person’s life. I stated that I believe that force is GOD, rather people call it a higher power or whatever, there was more than just chance that surrounded these circumstances. I said I’m sure the people on the flight were praying as well as the ground crew and emergency workers who ran out onto the runway after the plane crashed.

I said the other four elements were absolutely necessary, but it took this force (God) to make it all come together.

Afterwards, a couple of people came up to me and said, “I’m so glad you said that it was God.” It seems my words exposed me to a few more Believers who were present. I may have offended some folks, but I know that I had to share the truth. Our presentation was not dogmatic or attacking anyone’s beliefs. It was just necessary to assign this miracle to God and not to random chance.

So our assignment in Harrisburg continues to involve far more than ministering in the church setting.

You never know what a day may bring.

You never know what a day may bring – Part 1

Today was a pretty awesome day. You never know what a day may bring. First my wife called to let me know that she got the job she applied for within her government agency. She’s been trying to get a new job for over a year, and has been passed over a couple of times. Each time, though we refused to give in to the thoughts that this was racist or sexist or any of the crazy things that come to your mind when you are disappointed.

We’ve reached a place in our lives now where we have learned to accept the will of God and the WAY, the WAY, the WAY, the WAY, the WAY, the WAY God wants to fulfill His will in our lives.

A couple of weeks ago, she had an interview for another position within her agency that includes a promotion and higher pay. We’ve been living with such peace lately that we felt no anxiety or anything before, during or after the interview.

In fact, we’ve been so focused on our assignment in Harrisburg, that we haven’t even talked about or thought much about the interview.

Well, she called me to let me know that she got the job. Even in the midst of economic crisis, God is still taking care of us. There’s nothing like being in the will of God for your life.

More to come….