Connections with God and each other is what life is about.
It's what heaven is about.
And it is so cool when things work together on this earth we never planned and we know that we know that we know someone way bigger and someone who is behind all this must have done it. I've got two stories to tell you and some scripture to share with you -- stories and scripture that prove this connection theme that runs throughout everything.
The book of Isaiah is a great book. It's poetic, beautiful, profound, challenging and prophetic (big time). You can take any chapter in that book (and there are 66 of them) and find those great quotable verses -- like the one from chapter 40 that says, "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
I read from chapter 65 today and verse 24 says, "It will also come to pass that before they call, I (God) will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear."
Think on that -- what that really means. He's talking about when there is a new heaven and new earth our communication with Him will be immediate or even faster than immediate -- like the communication between two people who finish each other's sentences; know exactly what the other is thinking; feels what the other is feeling. Can you imagine being that close to the Creator of All? To the Almighty Father?
Okay, so fast forward (or rewind I should say) to this morning. The last few weeks I've been editing a manuscript I wrote over three years ago. Back then I'd write a chapter a day and would read the chapter to my three youngest children when they got home from elementary school. Then when my daughter Maggie (the oldest of these three) died, the manuscript got put away even though it was finished. But the last few months I've been thinking about Ruthie and Marcie (the two main characters of this first Smith Street Story) and knew it was a good story. It is fun to read. It is creative. It is really good -- truly. But I knew it needed editing and a few new pictures. So I set to work.
This morning after reading and correcting the proof I was sent, it was officially published. And after I published it, I realized today is Maggie's 15th birthday! She is still part of this book even though she's been living in heaven for three years. I'll put a picture from the book below this paragraph and if you're interested in looking further into the book you can click on the picture and it will take you to Amazon.
If I had tried to time it to be published on this exact day, it probably wouldn't have happened.
Okay, now for my second story:
My oldest son interviewed for a computer company a year ago last Feb. for an internship. They ended up not hiring anyone but requested him to come back this year for an interview. And he did. And they loved him. His interview went on for like two hours. They had him solving problems -- just really was a fun process my son said. It was a sure thing.
And then it wasn't.
They didn't hire him. It was a huge disappointment.
And a huge surprise.
I told my son it had to be God intervening for some reason.
And less than two weeks later he found another company, turned in an application; was interviewed by them three times and was hired! And this company is even better than the first one and my son says he knows this was a God thing for sure.
I don't know if you see the connections with all of this but I do. I feel the connections. And even as I type this I am watching another connection unfold that is awe-inspiring.
You are not an accident. You are the way you are because God made you that way. Embrace your quirks and your looks and the way you look at life. We need you. This world needs you. God needs you for His work in your world.