This Didn't Surprise God

Life changes so quickly. Our daughter Aimee, our granddaughters Madelyn and Elyse, and our new grandson, JJ, are visiting with us from Eureka, California. Aimee is the children's pastor at her church and her husband, Jason, is the associate pastor at First Assembly of God in Eureka. Aimee and our grandchildren, and Kathy's (my wife) parents, were here last Sunday and celebrated Kathy's birthday with her and the rest of our family. What a treat, and so much fun. But things change so quickly. By that night, we got the word from Eureka that Jason had been admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pains and a high temperature. Later the diagnosis came, a perforated colon. We had anxious hours as we prayed and waited for the results of tests and changes brought on by medication. By Monday morning there had been some improvement. Later on Monday, however, the senior pastor that Jason works with came by to see him. This was not your normal pastoral hospital visit. His pastor told him that later that evening he was gathering the church board together to announce that he was resigning his position as senior pastor and moving to Sacramento, California to work at another church. So Jason gets to deal with a "kick in the pants" and a "punch in the stomach". Going from concern about his health to concern about his and Aimee's future. As we talked about this on Tuesday, Kathy's mom said something that put it all in perspective, "this did not surprise God". She (Marjorie Ferrin) was so right. Regardless of our independence and self-sufficiency, God isn't surprised or incapacitated by life. He really is in charge when we allow Him to be. This is Thursday and Jason will probably be released today. Tomorrow he gets to start working on the future of First Assembly of God in Eureka, California. God is right there, He knew what was going to happen, both with Jason's health and the health of the church, and He knows what to do now. Wow, what a stress reliever. Aimee has been a real trooper. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had decided to go home early. But Aimee has learned that God is not surprised, he really can be trusted, and things can really work out for the best when we rely on God. So Kathy and I are excited, we get to enjoy Aimee and our grandchildren for a few more days. We'll be concerned about their future, but trusting God sure makes it easier.