Understand

Seeing, experiencing, and even participating in something doesn’t mean we understand what is going on.  You may think you have seen something, but have you?  You may believe you understand what is going on around you, how the relationships are interacting, but do you?  Even when we react to something specific in our lives, taking what we believe is a specific set of steps in response, do we really understand the complete picture?
 
On the surface the dinner was always going to be unusual.  Seven people gathering to share a meal and conversation with no obvious connecting threads in their lives.  As I reflect the morning after on the experience, superlatives easily spring to mind, filling in every description.  Superb guests opened themselves up to whatever might happen.  We were swallowed into an oasis with interesting food and ambience, something new yet old, fresh yet somehow familiar, with an underlying hint of being unpredictable while giving you the assurance of warmth and safety.  As the evening progressed whatever anxieties I might have had going into the experience vanished into a blanket of comfort, reflection, and sense of belonging.
 
Do I understand what happened?  I am not sure yet I am.
 
This isn’t new.  Most of the time, I find myself going through life blissfully assuming I have an accurate picture of what is going on around me.  People have done this for ages.  It is as if ignorance is a mark of those who get on with life!  Push, pull, and tug those around you to take on the next challenge.  Run to the next post.  Get on with the tasks at hand.
 
As the prep work for dinner long ago was completed, Jesus “took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.  Then he said, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you?’”  (John 13.12)
 
We had and have opportunities to understand.  Today is bright, crisp, and full of opportunities.  Reflection will bring everything into a more true focus – especially as you spend it with the Spirit.