Preparation

After a vigorous walk around a local track this morning with my friend Amy and an inspiring talk with her about adoption and other forms of outreach, I was driving home with Tobin when the song "If We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns came on the radio. It complemented beautifully the conversation I had just had and the thoughts and prayers of my heart as I was driving home--in essence, the longing to pour myself out for God and to be faithful in every single situation that comes my way, to listen for His voice and to give of myself as Jesus would on a daily basis. Here are some of the words of the song:

But if we are the body,
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?

And if we are the body,
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way.

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come.

The words of this song were still in my ears, and my heart was still crying out to God about my desire to live a life of sacrifice for Him when, suddenly, a wreck occurred in front of me.

I was traveling west on route 33 (our road) when I noticed a white car stopped in the road, waiting to make a left turn into a driveway. Two motorcycles who were behind the white car apparently didn't slow down much but simply zipped around it on the shoulder and went on their way. But the SUV that was following the motorcycles didn't see that the car was stopped, and the SUV driver's efforts to slow down in time were fruitless. She crashed into the back of the white car, smashing the back end and shattering glass. I was following the SUV, but had seen what was going on so had slowed down in plenty of time. (It was, however, an intense reminder that anything can happen when driving on the roads; and it's by God's grace that we drive safely each day.)

My very first reaction (after I could tell that there were no apparent serious injuries) was, "I wonder if there's enough room on the road to get around these cars and go on my way." My second reaction was, "Let me pull into this driveway and turn around so I can go home on back roads." My third reaction was, "I'd better stop and see if I can help." I wish that had been my first reaction. You would think that after hearing that Casting Crowns song and praying that prayer to be used by God, I would have been prepared to instantly obey and serve in that situation. But it wasn't quite instant.

I'm convinced that as we go through life, events occur which are preparation for something in the future...and the vast majority of the time, we have no clue how God is working to bring such things about. As I thought about this theme of preparation, it reminded me of how so many times, when Josiah was very young, I would read about a hurt or dying child or get some kind of reminder of how fleeting life is and how precious our children are...and then that night, he would wake up sick and we would have a rough night...or some other kind of "hardship" involving him (very minor, but still something out of the ordinary) would come along. And I would realize that God had prepared my heart to be tender and patient and overflowing with love for my child in whatever difficulty we were enduring.

I felt that way again today--that God had specifically prepared me to see that accident, to hop out and make sure everyone was OK, to get an orange warning cone out of our car, to help direct traffic around the accident scene, etc.--only small things, but it was all I could do. And I'm sure it was what God wanted me to do.

There's no feeling better than being used by God--being His arms, His hands, His words, His feet. May I stay in tune with God so that I'll be an effective tool for His glory!