Droplets of Miracle are Everywhere

As I mentioned in my previous post, I view those speed bumps, hurdles, temptations, desires, obstacles and paper cuts in life as attempts made by Wormwood to drive us away from Christ.  Life is full of those moments where things just don't go our way - bad traffic before a big meeting, unexpected bills, lost wallets, loss of a job, and things of that nature.  Life is also full of temptations, desires and envy- those websites that we don't need to be seeing, a neighbor rolling up in a brand new SUV, being an awesome golfer, and the list goes on.  And yes, there are major events in life like the loss of a loved one, natural disasters, and disease.  Life is full of challenges ranging from paper-cuts to real tragedy.

I don't know that Wormwood is causing all these things to happen.  I'm not sure he's typing in www.youshouldntseethis.com. He's not busting up your air conditioner and I'm not convinced he's causing floods.  But I do think it's Wormwood whispering in our ear as all these things are happening.  For me it's things like "Shane, you lost your keys. You're never going to make it home in time to get the kids.  They're going to end up outside in the midst of this blizzard, freezing. You blew it." Or it's the "Dang, Shane! Did you hear about Joe's new lake place?? Wow, you need one!" It's Wormwood capitalizing on these things and beating us down. He's attacking out integrity, confidence, pride, morality, strength and, most importantly, our faith.

When I started watching for Wormwood in action three years ago, I also started paying a lot more attention to the little moments in life where things, "just work out." It was amazing to me just how often these droplets of miracle appeared. The times when things seemed to be crashing, but suddenly something crazy would happen and, voila!  IT'S ALL GOOD.  Found my keys!  If we watch for it, even in the midst of those really tough times, when Wormwood is in our ear,  so is the Holy Spirit.  But the Holy Spirit is whispering... "It's all good, you won't be late."

The missions trip to Russia was full (and I mean FULL... as in hourly, some days), of paper cuts - little bits of bad news here and there.  However, the Holy Spirit would pop in and plop down a fix.  These moments would happen both in a tangible way, like a wheel barrow breaking down, but just as often in a spiritual way.  There were several times when I found myself just simply, well...done. I was exhausted, worn out, frustrated, dirty, hungry, or just plain grumpy.  Then I'd catch a nice breeze or ray of sunshine or hear one of the family camp kids laugh, and boom! I was back - droplets of miracle.

Wormwood Moment - It's Physical: When I first sent the note to a bunch of the Northridge guys about going to Russia to help out at TCC, I was only half-serious; kind of "talking big" more than anything. Then, several of the guys starting getting serious and then it became reality- a done deal, and we were going. The Wormwood thoughts started crossing my mind. "Shane, this is hard-core physical labor, and you spend 10 hrs a day in a cushy office building going to meetings. You don't do this kind of thing - you're not a man's man." I was really getting nervous and second guessing the whole thing, but then the other side came into the battle. "You've spent the last two years working your butt off to get into shape. Why do you think you've been doing that? You can handle pain like nobody's business and you're
used to working through whatever adversity comes your way. You're made for this!"

Wormwood Moment - From 12 to 9 to 12:  Here is certainly one of the most amazing stories about this trip.  When our group first signed on for this, we felt that we needed about a dozen people to make it work and be able to get the job done.  Well, needless to say, we hit several paperwork and documentation speed bumps along the way.  Every time we took a step forward it seemed like we were taking a step back.  Then, as the planned trip dates approached, we hit a hurdle we couldn't pass and ended up having to move the trip out a week.  This is when Wormwood really started whispering in my ear. "You can't go. You have a bunch of big meetings the first week in July and this would bust your career."  But I didn't listen! It took some faith, but I stuck with it.

The Visa issues did not ease up.  A week or so before departure, we found out that two of our team members had been denied their Visas.  Also, we had lost another team member a while before that.  The team that was 12 was now 9.  The team was committed, focused and staying positive - but there certainly was a drop in the energy level. You could hear him, "You needed those guys...you guys can't do this with out them."

Fast forward... we make it to Transformation Christian Center after 13 hrs in the air and 10 hrs on a train. We were exhausted but ready to get busy and get to work.  The team of 9 was ready to tackle this project.

The Russia Crew

Then we met the replacements (and I use that term in the most sincere and loving manner).  When we got to camp we were introduced to Art and Lisa Blaker and Geoffrey Apawu.  Art and Lisa are missionaries with SEND International serving in Siberia, and Geoffrey is a college student from Ghana  going to school in Tambov, Russia.  Our team was back to 12!   We had lots of other help at camp with language and just simply getting settled in, but these three were an unexpected blessing.  More on Art, Lisa and Geoffrey later.

From 12 to 9 and back to 12! Wormwood goes down!