Here’s
a hint if you ever find yourself working in a church office: never joyfully say, “Boy, it’s quiet
today.” That’s like opening up a front
door on the streets of Pamplona during the running of the bulls. Something will happen to remind you that
there is never an ordinary or “quiet” day when you are doing God’s work. Well no sooner had I said this when a terrific
wrench was thrown into great plans we had in store for our young people. You can plan and try to control even the most
miniscule of details, but God always has a plan that is greater than
yours. I spent most of my afternoon a
little miffed that I had to fix a mess that was not of my doing. When I finally calmed down and realized that
I had to play the hand that I had been dealt, I clumsily uttered a phrase that
almost immediately made it on to my Twitter feed: “When life throws you
curveballs, make lemonade!” Of course I
meant “when life gives you lemons,” but the mixing of metaphors and my sudden and
unexpected transformation into Yogi Berra led me to conclude that even when it
comes to speech, God is in control. I
was trying to calm our pastoral staff when I said something that made
absolutely no sense, but ended up being a funny and teachable moment. Even when things are spiraling out of control
around us, God’s got our back. And from
what seems hopeless, unforeseen blessings will appear.
