Chaos Redeemed – if i ever write a book that will be the title.
One might think vacationing the way we just did might have been pure chaos: 9 days, 3 different beds and 4 different combinations of people ending with a wake up call at 5:30am.
But instead it was more like this:
Pool at condo: home #1 with Brian’s great uncle and aunt
Out for ice cream and wild life
This is what I got to do after running my 10 miles on a beach
Yup, XS didn’t drown in the pool.
This is house # 3. Mango Street. Complete with a little corner “restaurant” that makes HEAVENLY BISCUITS, SIN-amon rolls and made the beach .25 miles away reek of those rolls every morning as I walked back home from my beach workouts.
There were 12 people in the house most of the time. Cousins helping put on skits, family to celebrate XS and Brian’s March birthdays, mom and my aunt would stroll to the grocery store for more ketchup, everyone would in the sand and watch sunsets.
It was glorious.
Today is Palm Sunday and it was odd and sad to miss a church worship service, but we got to be near palm trees and talk about Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem. It must have been CHAOS that year with the regular crowds but then all the drama with the Messiah and the people’s hopes and dreams.
Little did they know what chaos was about to ensue.
I am playing with the thought of claiming that everything is “redeemable” with God. Everything.
For instance: This trip was planned months ago and I was the one purchasing the tickets on line. We found our times and price and I loaded up the page, entered my data and fell asleep for my typical nap. Waking up and checking my email, I sucked all the air out of the room when I realized I had purchased 1 ticket. For me.
I quickly loaded the same times and prices (thanks to Jesus) and purchased 4 more. Whew.
However, it meant our family wasn’t really “together” according to the airline. So we had seat issues.
On the way home, it meant scrambling and not getting said seats until everyone else had boarded. Like we shut the door behind us. And then settled into the row of seats right behind first class, with extra leg room and wiggle room for 2 boys who go potty every 10 minutes on a plane ride. Chaos Redeemed.
Now, our plane tickets or simple vacation is no test for God’s ability to redeem. But suffering, death, illness and dark injustice may seem beyond His Touch. But I think this Holy Week is a way for us to put our faith in a God who can take anything (and anyone) and redeem.