The Unexpected

I sit here this morning chugging coffee and popping aspirin, I was up late and my head hurts. I don't think I'd trade it today though. Let me tell you how I got here.

Yesterday was a long day. It started out early at the office with a crisis of someone who needed me (part of my job which I actually enjoy), which pinched the time I normally have to make preparations for evening rehearsals and made for a very busy afternoon. Rehearsal was moved back 2 hours to accommodate a performance of our Creative Arts teams (which was fantastic!), and rehearsal got a bit grueling at times while we hammered out some new tunes. I finally left the office @ 10pm. My daughter had gotten in from college for Christmas break earlier that evening, and like me, hadn't eaten any dinner, so my dear wife and I picked up a bag of fast food (I won't confess which "nearly food" establishment got my money) on the way to the house. We enjoyed a late night meal while our daughter shared the story of her drive home along with letting us peak at Christmas gifts she has for her sister, as well as showing off some of the projects she has worked on this last semester (she's an art major).

It is now 11:30pm and our daughter proclaims her desire to go catch up with friends..."goodnight daughter, be careful, lock up when you get home." And then my wife proclaims her desire to jump in the hot tub and watch the meteor shower. If you didn't know, the Leonid meteor shower is visible in our parts right now, boasting up to 100 visible "shooting stars" per hour. Honestly, we had talked about that earlier in the day, but I had no idea it was going to be this late when we finally got around to it. And that's where it happened, the unexpected.

You see, my wife knows me and my habit of rising early and facing the day. She knew that at this hour, our plans of star gazing probably weren't going to happen. I would want to get a little sleep and after all, if you've seen me you know that my beauty rest is necessary! But I did the unexpected and said "grab the towels!". I'll spare you the details, but a couple hours later I drifted off to sleep having had a marvelous evening. I am paying the price this morning for my lack of sleep, but I don't care, my wife is a natural night owl and connecting with her last night was priceless. Especially this time of year when things are busy and most of our conversations are in passing or revolve around a particular issue instead of just talking and listening to one another's heart.

"Great, good for you, blah, blah, blah.....", you may say, but I do have a point. It is this: more than 2000 years ago, something unexpected happened that is very good news for you and me. An unmarried virgin girl became pregnant, her future husband decided to stay with her and be a father to a baby that was born in a stable. This baby grew into a man who upset the religious leaders of the day by proclaiming Himself the Messiah - a Savior for all of mankind. They had expected a more regal and royal personality to arrive on the scene and Lord his authority over all. He was a commoner, born in a place where "nothing good comes from" and he hung out with fisherman and prostitutes, lepers and tax collectors and the like. And He did unexpected things like heal the lame, cause the blind to see, feed thousands with nothing and raise people from the dead. And He said that when He died, He would rise from the dead and offer the same everlasting life to all who believed in Him. And He did. This is all historic fact about Jesus. And because of the unexpected, you and I can wake up each and every day knowing we will live again with Him no matter how we feel or how bad we think we've screwed up.

If you're faced with doing the same old thing, the same old way or trying something new and different - I encourage you to do the unexpected. From personal experience I know that it has it's rewards. In fact, you might say that life itself is found in the unexpected. Choose life.


Peace......