What a crazy summer. Twists and turns. Forward and backward. Sense and confusion. Well, that’s how my summer has gone.
I just re-read my last post which I wrote at the end of June in honor of our country’s 250th anniversary. I wrote of our young nation’s deep, historical roots (represented by four cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Greece, and London). I quoted founding fathers. I quoted from George Washington’s first inaugural address given on April 30, 1789:
“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”
Does this collective view of “providential agency,” the hand of God in history, apply on an individual and personal level? Logically, it does. The individual is a part of the collective. Biblically it does. Proverbs 16:9 declares, “A man’s heart plans his ways, but the LORD determines his steps.”
It seems that the differences between our plans and the LORD’s paths compose a dance in which I wait or move and God affirms or redirects. The movement seldom is straight forward. I dance by faith not by sight, seeking to follow Jesus.
I recognize that God provides many good options; not all decisions are a matter of right or wrong. I also realize that some decisions are life-changing, and that I will not always know when a little choice will alter the river’s course. Such knowledge is not entrusted to me. My trust is owed to “the Invisible Hand,” who is trustworthy, adorably so according to George Washington.
Therefore, I recognize that my husband’s and my crazy mixed up summer is not an indication that the “Invisible Hand” was withdrawn from our experience, leaving us whirling and swirling dizzily with no hope of sense and meaningful progress. God has been involved, always present in the whirling swirls, directing our steps for purposes currently unnecessary for us to understand.
Do you identify with our experience?
Journey North Character 