Stop, Reflect, Hope

While making my way through some "fun reading" – reading that is not directly tied to my vocation -- I was challenged by Charles Krauthammer’s about ones need of imagination. In his September 24, 2001 Washington Post column, Krauthammer, the sometime Fox News pundit and syndicated Washington Post writer, noted how unprepared the United States was for the terrorist attacks a year earlier. No one could imagine that people would hate our nation and way of life enough to fly airplanes into office buildings with intention to fly into the White House.

Krauthamer observed that by the time the evil, devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been accomplished, word was received by the passengers on a flight over Western Pennsylvania. The passengers had to be stunned, but they needed no imagination. So, a few brave men acted courageously and decisively. An attack on the White House was successfully averted because no imagination was needed.

The scenario painted by a newspaper columnist triggered my memory of a verse tucked away in my spirit when I was still a pre-teen. In 2 Corinthians 2:9-10 Paul gave this description of God’s imagination. We are reminded, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." The genius, creativity and imagination of God cannot be placed on the same scale as mankind’s senses, knowledge or ability to reach.

We mortals need to remember that simple powerful truth. As we apply another dose of man-made medicine, formulate strategies limited by finite knowledge, and desperately hope for solutions to life’s imponderables, we need to stop, reflect, and trust. In stopping we interrupt what may have been habitual God-limiting behavior. Stopping allows us to ponder, to newly consider the what no mind has conceived. Hope languishes when we get caught up in the web of habit.

In reflection the wonders of God’s past acts move into the present. This morning I sorted through a sizeable stack of business cards. Among the cards was the name, address and business information of a company that was extremely generous toward what was then known as "Highway Ministries." We were renovating the building now housing growing and thriving Resurrection Life Church. We were weary and had worn down teams of people who came to help from as far away as Michigan. The rebuilding process was long and tedious. And then, the unthinkable, what no eye had seen, no ear had heard, no mind had conceived happened before our weary, befogged eyes! A company specializing in pastas and sauces donated nearly all the interior doors hardware and jambs that we needed. I still am stunned and amazed at the imagination and creativity of God.

Many of you know that Pat has Parkinson’s Disease and those with any knowledge of the illness know how difficult and devastating the symptoms are. On occasion I leave the room where Pat is resting and simply and quietly weep. It happened yesterday. The sun had set, Pat and I enjoyed watching our favorite game shows following the evening news, and then I read the article by Mr. Krauthammer, a religious Jew. The idea about needing a better imagination was planted in my spirit. The Holy Spirit took the more-than-14-year-old Washington Post article and said, God has prepared, and will reveal to you, what you cannot yet imagine." Yes! Amen! I will trust the Word of God.