Do you ever have one of those "God Moments" that just humbles you to your core? One of those times when a truth is spectacularly revealed to you or the Spirit speaks so clearly that it is unmistakeable? They are not frequent for me, but I just had one.
The Lord spoke to me through a person who told me that I am where I am for a specific purpose, and then spoke about that purpose. Without giving away details, he told me how my knowledge, skills, and gifts etc. assisted him with an ongoing issue. I didn't think a great deal about it at the moment, because I changed the subject (which is how I deflect praise) but later that night the Spirit clearly spoke to me about it.
All of the grief, trouble and heartache that put us there now pale in comparison with the thought that I was sent by God for a specific purpose and task. What a humbling thought that is to me. We came to the thought that God may be using me as a transitional figure, which, looking at my past, is a possiblity. Like John the Baptist, I may be used to end one era and usher in a new one. In many ways I hope that is not the case, because that implies a great deal of change and bumping and rubbing. But, God is sovereign and I am not
In Paul Simon's masterful Graceland album, there is a song called "Boy in the Bubble" that describes the world 20 years later.
The Boy In The Bubble
It was a slow day And the sun was beating On the soldiers by the side of the road There was a bright light A shattering of shop windows The bomb in the baby carriage Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder This is the long distance call The way the camera follows us in slo-mo The way we look to us all The way we look to a distant constellation That’s dying in a corner of the sky These are the days of miracle and wonder And don’t cry baby don’t cry Don’t cry
It was a dry wind And it swept across the desert And it curled into the circle of birth And the dead sand Falling on the children The mothers and the fathers And the automatic earth These are the days of miracle and wonder This is the long distance call The way the camera follows us in slo-mo The way we look to us all The way we look to a distant constellation That’s dying in the corner of the sky These are the days of miracle and wonder And don’t cry baby don’t cry Don’t cry
It’s a turn-around jump shot It’s everybody jump start It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts Medicine is magical and magical is art The Boy in the Bubble And the baby with the baboon heart
And I believe These are the days of lasers in the jungle Lasers in the jungle somewhere Staccato signals of constant information a loose affiliation of millionaires And billionaires and baby These are the days of miracle and wonder This is the long distance call The way the camera follows us in slo-mo The way we look to us all The way we look to a distant constellation That’s dying in a corner of the sky These are the days of miracle and wonder And don’t cry baby don’t cry Don’t cry
At the same time, we have breath-taking advances in medicine, robotics, nanotechnology and circuitry. These truly are the days of miracles and wonders.
I was painting my garage listening to that song and it just struck me. Not much has changed in 20 years. And it is still a bit scary.
I'm a Renaissance Man wannabee - I keep getting into weird stuff like trebuchet construction, homemade smokers, bat house construction and strange things like that. I'm over 50, self-employed and a high school teacher. I married way up and lost her to cancer, and have two wonderful daughters who continue to amaze me.