In the Midst of the Unlikely

I sat uncomfortably in a typical hotel room chair. You know, the ones that look nice and are probably easy to clean because they are basically well-designed and coordinated fabrics pulled over wooden boards. But I propped my feet up on the bed and read with my youngest son leaning his head back against me. In this position, with my backside falling asleep, I read an article about a poet who's work I had really enjoyed, who's work had contributed to my contemplation of God, who's work has helped lead me into prayer. I read, to my surprise, that this poet is Muslim.

And it occurred to me, sitting in my hard chair, holding my squirming son, waiting for "5 minutes" while my wife finished getting ready for our date night... in the midst of all this chaos, God had spoken to me. The message was simple, as it always is, and self-evident immediately.

"I speak out of the unlikely."

God has a history of speaking in unlikely ways. The burning bush, the gentle whisper, a hand writing on the wall. From a prophet who married to a prostitute to a prophet born to a poor teenage mother in a small cattle stall. The words that flow out of these places are generally consistent as well, "I am calling you," "I am with you," or "I love you with everlasting love."

As the evening continued, my wife and I went, as part of a marriage retreat, to indulge in some Amish-style cooking. My wife looking beautiful, my thoughts on late evening activities, God spoke again. This time, He had to cut through my thoughts. This time, he used an older married couple from North Carolina, whose southern drawls made them difficult to understand at times and whose Baptist roots (I must admit) made me uneasy at first blush.

Despite all the reasons not to listen, the LORD's Spirit was still moving. Even my distraction cannot stop Him. The speakers, Debe and Marty Tobin, shared stories from their marriage about Debe's losing a set of keys down the toilet and Marty's ability to "cover her weakness" by thinking ahead and putting an extra set of keys in the glove box. Then, another story about a lawnmower mishap that cut the line to the family's well and the grace they were able to extend to one another. Finally, Marty put it all together: "Because it's not about keys or wells, it's about relationships."

Here I am, stuffed full of mashed potatoes and roast beef, but hearing God's message of life. It is not about the little things - the stuff you accumulate, the stuff you lose, the mistakes you make, the mistakes your wife makes, the mistakes your church makes - it is about sustaining relationships.

I admit, I wasn't expecting to hear such a powerful reminder from a Baptist couple at an Amish dinner while I was thinking of sex. And I admit, I didn't think a Muslim poet, in an uncomfortable chair, in a rushed atmosphere could turn my prayers to the true and only LORD.

But God continues to speak in the midst of the unlikely.