Providential Relationships

I have been preparing for my sermon this week on providential relationships - those relationships that God places in our pathways that have made or make a significant difference in our lives.  It is an interesting exercise to go back over your own story and see the relationships where God has been and continues to work in your life.  (You can listen to the sermon at watersedgekc.org any time after Sunday afternoon.)  

Today I was reflecting on the many significant changes and the transient nature of my life and feeling a bit sad that I have not been able to keep friends for a longer than a few years.  I mean the people I had friendships with I still consider as friends, but there is often very little interaction with them.  It was just a little sad.

However, I was encouraged knowing that God was at work in most of those relationships and continues to work through my present and, hopefully, future relationships.  The issue is that I so often stay plugged into a machine or a book that I often miss what is going on around me.  So, I made it a point to talk to people around me or at least smile at them as I was working on the sermon in a coffee shop.  I am excited that I get to go golfing with my neighbor when the sun decides to peak out.  It will be a great opportunity to get to know more about a really neat guy. 

I have also become fearfully aware of my impact on my kids, especially Lukas.  He seems to feed off my attitude.  So, I want to be a good example in patience, humility, honesty, and love as he grows up into a young man.  (ooh that pains me to say that...my little boy a man).  And, I want to be a postive male figure in the life of my children.  

I ran into an interesting thought while reading the novel The Shack.  In this novel God presents God's self to the main character as a jovial black female, a dark skinned Jewish handyman, and what can only be described as some kind of Japanese anime character.  And Mack, the main character, thought God was a white-haired man and asked about the whole God gender thing.  Anyway, the response is what caught my attention .  God responds by saying, I am neither male nor female; but I come across most often as father because I knew immediately at the fall that humans would have an issue with the paternal parent.  I am not saying that is a complete answer to that question, but it certainly strikes at the heart of many in our society.  So, I want to be a positive father figure for my kids.

To top this post off, I would say look out for those around you.  God may be at work wanting to do something for or with you.