Not-so-mysterious ways

This last week I met with a group of clergy I have helped facilitate over the last year and a half. We met for our final in-person retreat together in Rye, New York, at an old house looking out over Long Island Sound. We began as 12, but life changes and such reduced us to 8 for our gathering, Protestant clergy of various stripes from different parts of the country. Our cohort's time together was about more than just community support. But over these 18 months of knowing one another we found plenty of shared ground, and relished the preciousness of friendship and laughter. Most of the group are senior pastors of larger churches, which can be a lonely position. Most of us did not know each other well at the beginning of our time. And most of us had enormous changes in our lives over the last 18 months, things that were unforeseen when we began. Extraordinary that we found each other, and shared what we did together.

So yet again, I find myself marveling at the way that God brings us into one another's lives, and how God prepares us for things we do not see coming. We get to celebrate the wedding of two members of our community this weekend, Sam and Debbie, whose marriage is one clear example of that! But even in smaller, quieter ways, God sometimes seems to line things up, if we have eyes to notice. Just when I need it, someone says a word in passing that sticks in my head for later, or I meet someone in the neighborhood who turns out to share something in common. All of it a reminder to keep our eyes and ears and hearts open as we go about our day - for God is always up to something.