A ROMANS 8:28 DAY
Monday was an “all things work together for good” kind of day.
I woke up in a hotel room in Rochester to drive my sister to her Mayo Clinic appointments. We made plans for me to return by 11:30 a.m. for her treatment appointment. I headed back to the hotel to work, setting an alarm so that I had time to get ready and drive to the clinic a little earlier than scheduled.
But at 9:40 a.m. my sister texted me to say she was able to get in early and they were getting her treatment ready for her at that moment. I rushed to pack up our things and head to the clinic, excited for everyone that our day would be shorter because of this good news. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purposes.”
When I arrived at the 10th floor of the clinic, at a time I was not supposed to be there, I had to look twice at the person sitting in the chair near the window. Did I recognize her? As a matter of fact, I did. It was a constituent from Eden Prairie UMC who was there with her husband. I knew they were seeking medical care at Mayo, but it had been some time since our schedules aligned for us to catch up on the process. So, unexpectedly, I was able to sit and talk with her, learning about this stage of their journey, hear what was next for them, and offer my care. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purposes.”
Catching up with my sister, it was a short 15 minutes before we were on our way home, before her treatment was even scheduled to start!
I had promised John that I would be at the hospital Monday afternoon after I dropped my sister off. John offered grace if plans changed and I was not able to make it. Instead, I arrived at the hospital a good two hours earlier than expected. None of us had any idea of what lay ahead of us that afternoon. What I know now is that if the unexpected change of schedule in the morning hadn’t happened, I would have arrived after his wife's passing. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purposes.”
You might recognize what has become my life verse from Romans 8:28. It is a lens through which I see my life. I choose not to see things as coincidence or a product of circumstances, but the hand of God coaxing blessings out of the messiness of life. That is what happened on Monday. God worked in the messiness of my sister’s cancer treatments to create blessings for her, for the constituents of EPUMC at the clinic, for John and his family, and for me. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purposes.”
Seeing life this way is a choice. We can talk about “good luck” or “bad fortune.” We can bemoan the circumstances of life or celebrate the coincidences that seem to happen. Or we can look for God’s hand coaxing blessings out of everything in life, the good and the bad. It’s a choice you can make.
Try on Romans 8:28 glasses for a few days and see if you can notice where God is coaxing a blessing out of the messiness of your life.
Pastor Becky Jo
