The station is probably glad it didn’t interview me for its story because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make the final cut.  I don’t loathe carpool; I am one of those who looks forward to the carpool line every day!  In fact, I cannot seem to get there early enough!  You see, for me, the carpool line is where I do a great deal of my spiritual reading.  It’s a sad day when I forget to take a book along with me when I pick up my son at school.  When I’m home, there are many distractions, so I find it difficult to read.  There’s always another load of wash to do, a dishwasher to unload or now, a puppy to entertain, but in the carpool line, it’s just me and my book, God and me, and if anything, instead of cutting others off, I am the one forgetting to move forward because I am engrossed in something new about the faith.  I wish I had more carpool time!

     Ephesians 5:15 warns, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  I try to make the most of that mindless time at carpool by filling my mind with the things of God.  Instead of looking at carpool as a tedious burden each day, it is a positive in my life, the quiet time with God that I yearn for each day. 

     How about you?  Is there a time each day that you can use to spend with the Lord?  Think about how you can turn down time each day into a time where you can feel more spiritually alive through your reading or simply through a time of prayer.  Instead of a negative, I guarantee it will be a time you look forward to and will never want to miss!

     So what does this have to do with God or anything spiritual, besides my daily prayers that our household items will remain intact and uncarved?  It reminded me a little bit of how life can turn in a short period of time, for good or bad.  Initially, I thought our puppy was going to be one way; two days later. she is another.  Often times, we expect our lives to go one direction, but many times, it just doesn’t happen that way.  So what do we do, when life takes a left turn and does not meet our expectations?  One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 16:9, which tells us, “A man’s heart plans his way; but the Lord directs his steps.”  There it is!  It is confirmation that life will not always go as we plan, but we must trust that whatever happens is directed by the Lord.  Can we trust God with the steps of our lives?  Can we be at peace when life does not follow our blueprint?

     In my case, I know that eventually Jewel will get past the puppy stage and life will calm down at our household again.  In the case of more serious things that happen, I have to trust that the Lord will see me through it and that whatever is going on is part of his much larger, glorious plan.  Remember these encouraging words from Proverbs 3:5:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

     It was amazing to hear the different stories of how God worked in people’s lives but in each case, it involved a choice to follow Christ.  Transformation is a choice and a cooperative effort.  Before Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, he asked the servants to fill six stone jars with water before he turned the water into wine.  He is Jesus!  Did he need water in the jars to create the wine?  No, but he did want the servants to participate in the miracle for it to make more of an impact.  The end result, the disciples who attended the wedding, believed in Jesus. 

     In almost all of the accounts of Jesus’ miracles he performed, there is some action required by the recipient of the miracle.  When Jesus was in the process of calling Simon Peter, a fisherman, to be his disciple, he hadn’t caught a fish all night.  Jesus told Simon Peter to put his nets into deep water, and let down the nets for the catch.  Simon Peter probably thought, “We haven’t caught anything all night.  How is this going to change anything!”  However, Simon Peter listened to Jesus, lowered his nets, and when he raised them, there were so many fish, his nets were breaking.  Jesus didn’t need Simon Peter to lower his nets to perform this miracle, but again, Simon Peter’s cooperation made the miracle that much more powerful.  The end result was that Simon Peter became a fisher of men and transformed into one of the most powerful disciples of Jesus Christ.

     I believe Jesus still performs miracles in our lives.  The evidence of that was clear in the lives of so many who attended our college retreat; however, we have to say yes to what Jesus tells us to do.  There is obedience involved.  If you want to be transformed, ask the Lord to create a miracle in you and He’ll let you know how to cooperate!

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