A Divine Appointment

Let me start by saying I don't think that there are too many genuine coincidences in the world. I think that God orchestrates a lot more of our lives than we give him credit for. So when I usually use the phrase "divine appointment", most of the time I am talking about something that other people would term a coincidence. Yesterday, however, I experienced what I cannot describe any other way. God orchestrated my day yesterday to be exactly what I needed.

One more thing that you need to understand is that Mother's Day becomes an increasingly difficult day for me every year. My longing to be a mother is magnified and intensified by the celebration of mothers. Every year that passes and I don't feel any closer to having my desire gets more and more frustrating. So I don't necessarily look forward to going to church on Mother's Day. The sermon is usually about mothers or directed at mothers. There is usually a gift given and a big deal made about if you are or aren't a mother. And all my friends have plans to spend the day with their mothers (or their children). All these things combined leave me feeling a little left out, frustrated and depressed.

So this year Adam was expecting to have the day off. A few weeks ago he called his mother and asked her what she wanted to do on Mother's day. She said all she knew was that she was going to church. So he said that we would go with her. When it turned out that he had to work, I didn't change my plan. While Adam was asleep I went and spent the day with his mother.

The Pastor of her church was not in attendance, so the man who preached was not the normal preacher that she was expecting. It turns out that he is the director of their Celebrate Recovery Ministry. His mention of Mother's Day went something like: "Happy Mother's Day, there are muffins for all our moms in the foyer". Then he preached about addiction.

He described addiction as the thing you think about before you think about going to God. He said that for some people their addictions are easily identified (i.e. drugs, alcohol, etc.). But for others it may be more difficult to pinpoint, sometimes because of the necessities of life. The passage of Scripture he gave was Isaiah 44:14-21. It talks about a man who grows a tree and cuts it down to use for survival, but with the leftover wood he makes an idol.

Now I have heard preachers preach about addiction, and I have heard preachers preach on idols, but I have never heard a preacher equate the two. But aren't the basic definitions nearly identical? What is hindering my relationship with God? What thing have I concentrated on so much that it's all I think about?

There are three things that most constantly consume my thoughts. Food, Facebook...and Bible Quiz (not necessarily in that order). These are all things that I feel are necessities of life. I cannot quit eating, I would find communication with my family and friends more difficult without Facebook, and the Word of God is foundational for everything that I am and want to be and I want to pass that knowledge on to others.

So what do I do with this information? I have no idea, except to pray and ask God to show me and ask him to be forefront in my mind so that everything I do is done with his power and for his glory.