God: Still Supernatural As Ever

So I walked to the end of our street yesterday searching for autumnal trees to take pictures of and saw a huge red tree a block away. I used the camera zoom and then thought I heard three teenage boys near the tree saying something like, " ... taking a picture of us."

Hmm. So hoping the boys would figure-out I was photographing trees, I turned a different direction and snapped a picture of a tree closer to me, then I began walking to where I'd been planning to go for days.

Well. A block-and-a-half-later I heard voices behind me, not too close, but the words, "Why did you take a picture of my house?" registered with my head-in-the-autumnal-clouds brain. Wow, those guys had followed me all that way.

And then the weirdest thing happened. Ever so calmly I turned around and walked the ten steps, or so, back toward the boys and said, "Did you ask me a question?" And it was funny, because those tough-looking guys, probably around 19-years-old, looked taken aback. Surprised that I was now confronting them.

Then one of them asked, "I was wondering why you took a picture of my house."

I chuckled and said, "Oh! No, I took a picture of the gorgeous red tree behind your house. That's what I'm out doing today-- taking photos of these beautiful trees out here. I'm just a crazy nature lover freak, that's all." (By this time they thought I was just crazy. I could tell.)

So the guy said, "Oh. Well. Ok." Then the three of them turned to walk the two-and-a-half blocks back to the guy's house.

Now, the wildest thing? Not once did my heart beat wildly, you know, like when you're afraid. Not one heavy beat. Instead, I felt the most amazing calm, a level-headed boldness, and I knew this was a supernatural thing. Something not of me (are you kidding? I'm probably the shyest person you know.), but rather, a boldness from God and Grace and the Holy Spirit and you can probably throw in a few angels, too.

I get concerned that so many Christians choose to ignore (and even deny) the supernatural power of God. Too often they want every unusual happening to be explained away, to make sense, to have no shroud of mystery. To them, Christian mystics (even 17th century ones) are a big fat no-no. They believe they've got God all figured-out and pretty much, He thinks exactly as they do and they prefer that all the surprises be gone. Just give them their predictable, same ol', same ol' church services year after year and they're happy.

And yet they wonder why this latest generation is so interested in the paranormal. In ghosts, spirits, diviners, tarot cards, mind-reading, horror films, psychic-whatever and who knows what all else. 

Well, duh. God is supernatural. He's like us, but not like us--He's a zillion times better--and He's created us to want Him, including His supernaturalness. He can still heal our diseases or heal us with joy in the middle of our sorrow or of being wrongly accused. He has angels floating around, protecting us. He sits beside millions of us while we type at our computers or lie upon our beds--He's everywhere. He still speaks to us and speaks through others to us, as well. He has an incredible other world waiting for us when we die and He's there, too, with a few million other people.

Don't get me started or I'll never stop.

There is no end to God or His surprises. Like that one yesterday where this little woman bravely faced that small army ... and laughed.





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Tammy explains quite well here what I've left out of my own post.


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Oh, and on my way back home, I passed by a woman mowing her lawn and easily she was 80-years-old. Easily. I smiled at her, waved, and she did the same. Totally made my day and I wondered if, should the Lord tarry, that would be me someday.  :)


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Homes for Book Lovers.


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