A Photovotional — The Serendipitous Life

The fog was a shroud of gossamer floating about in thick and thin waves. Through it all ran a horse. The picture was there for the taking. But there are always variables. Fog comes and goes, so you have to be ready. I couldn’t shout instructions to the horse as to what he should do to make himself more photogenic. I’m not a horse whisperer, but even if I were, he was at a distance that would have required shouting, not whispering. Fog and horse were in place, all that remained was for a photographer to drive by; that would be me. It all came together and, presto, here’s the picture. Photos like this are not planned; they just happen and you have to be ready. I almost always have my camera with me in the car.

I’ve come to realize that much of life happens spontaneously. We plan some, and should, but always we must be open to the unexpected. Consider how the bookends of life, both birth and death, are not easily scheduled. Expectant young parents wait for the birth of their child, and wait some more. Adult children sit beside the bed and wait for the death of an elderly parent. Both the maternity ward and the Hospice unit operate on a flexible time frame. Life in between the bookends often doesn’t go as scheduled either.

Jesus went about doing a great many miracles, but of the 30 plus recorded miracles in the four gospels there are none that were planned ahead of time by Jesus. It was miracles by interruptions. God’s calling for each of us comes without a printed schedule. He informs us on a need-to-know basis, which often means about the time it happens! It’s a calling to act spontaneously by the Spirit!

Each day is filled with the unexpected, but with His help we can expect to carry out His will in the midst of the surprise. Who will we bump into? What phone call will come? What will get canceled? What good news will we get? What bad news will we get? Will we be healthy or sick tomorrow? Will we have a narrow miss or an accident? God is very much alive and active in all of our unknowns. As has often been said, we don’t know what the future holds but we can know the One who holds the future! God says, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” (Isaiah 42:16)