Do you know who is watching your backside? Do you have confidence that the coverage is always going to be there? Is somebody there having the tough conversations with you that nobody else can have?
When I am away from India the immediacy of my experiences quickly begins to fade. The scent and interaction with friends carries on, yet my engagement in the day to day aspects of being there begins to change, fade, almost as soon as the plane lifts off. When I return, especially when the distance begins to shrink and I am landing in Madras, my confidence and anticipation of what is going to happen comes flooding back.
I know I am going to be met at the airport with a warm smile and a helping hand. I can anticipate the atmosphere of the drive into the airport. I am absolutely confident of the experience I am going to receive when I walk into the hotel and follow my host up to my room. End to end, teamwork appearing as effortlessly as in a dream, I find myself coming home yet again.
There are few cities or institutions that are as predictably and consistently good as my reception in Madras. I trust what is going to happen. I can anticipate, move with trust, and leverage the moves that are going to happen. The reflection creeps into every relationship that comes in this environment; anticipating the best from the operations team here, trusting their work and effort, knowing that a dialogue is possible!
I easily forget that the same confidence and anticipation extends directly to God. God is always available, always present, always engaged. God’s moves can be anticipated and trusted. God’s motives sure, open, and nurturing. Yet I act as if God has never made a move in my life. The miracles of last week are forgotten. The Presence that guided my steps lost. God’s open door more often ignored that accepted. And so God reminds each of us.
“Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.” (Revelation 3.22)
