Hi Friends,

Do you ever have moments that are so unlikely that you feel like maybe you are living in The Truman Show? I often do. Here are a few examples. I constantly hear my playlist in stores, restaurants and hotels. I would think my playlist is full of songs no one else knows or likes — they certainly aren’t on the radio. How is that possible? A few weeks ago my husband mentioned a specific example involving a Costco receipt from a Tim Keller sermon he listened to. The next day my niece texted me that sermon because of that Costco example. In April I saw a friend from Northern Virginia I never see. I’ve seen her three times in the last eight years. Later that day — in April mind you — in her mailbox was the Christmas card she sent me. We move a lot. Mail is snail-like. But April? On the very day I saw her in the flesh?

But this week I had probably the most unlikely experience of my life. Maybe someday I’ll share the details but for now, trust me that it was less probable from a statistical standpoint than any of the above, by many orders of magnitude. It was also incredibly sweet.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie, The Truman Show, but eventually Truman recognizes the charade for what it is. Sometimes I am amused to imagine an audience watching me saying, “Geez, is she ever going to figure it out?!”

But the truth is much sweeter. Thankfully, I am not in a show. I am in the loving arms of my Savior. My grace-upon-grace life is ordered by Him.

It’s funny how we can be consumed by striving and achievement, as if we ultimately determine our steps. I say funny because we cannot even guarantee another breath. I believe in working hard. The times of my life where I have worked the hardest are the most satisfying — from hard work seasons of motherhood to manual labor in home improvement projects — it feels great to go to bed exhausted. But working hard doesn’t mean a specific outcome will always be the result. In the end everything depends on God.

Saint Augustine is often credited with saying, “Work as if everything depends on you and pray as if everything depends on God.” Since Augustine lived in the 4th Century maybe the quote needs a 21st Century paraphrase: “Stop streaming and scrolling. Start working hard with your hands. Pray without ceasing, acknowledging that it all depends on God.”

Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

And if you are in a place that feels hard, or even impossible, I read this morning from Psalm 106:9 which says, “He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as though a desert.”

I love the imagery of that. Maybe you are in the deep. Praying God leads you through as though a desert.

With Love,

Kristie