He orders the snow, ‘blanket the earth!’
No one can escape the weather—it’s there.
And no one can escape from God. (Job 37 MSG)
I read this while I was stuck in the snow in Western Michigan. Then Mandy got stuck in Chicago, and then LA. Then Kierra got stuck in Minnesota. All because of snow. All because of God? Disappointments became Divine appointments.
Two days before all this, Mandy Smith, one of my mentors and one of the three official readers of my project/dissertation sent me some notes on my project. She said she wished she could visit our community. Her wish came true in less than a week. She texted me that she was going to be stuck in LA, and wondered if there was a place for her to stay. She also said she would be willing to serve in any way. YES! Do you know how much I’d pay to have Mandy Smith come and stay with us AND help in our community? Yes!
And help she did! Her Stories and Scriptural reflection unfolded into faithful and generative perspectives in looking at what had become boring, indicting, finger-pointing (and sometimes devilish) scripts that have be rehearsed since the first gender war in the garden. Challenging! Refreshing. How damaging the old scripts have been to both the daughters of Eve and the sons of Adam. The Kingdom way is so much better.
The next day Mandy spent the morning with our interns and other young adult leaders in leading us through an exercise that has produced many fruitful follow up conversations. She also led us through this helpful “emptying prayer.”
Thank you Mandy. And, thank God for ordering the snow!
Mandy’s website/blog: https://thewayistheway.org
Awesome!