God’s will through the rear-view mirror

I’ve become convinced that God’s will is rarely revealed in the moment; that it’s only when we’re gazing through the rear-view mirror of life that we can see with any clarity how things have been divinely laid out.

I’m also convinced this is one of the major causes of disbelief. We live in a world of “give it to me yesterday!” Delayed gratification is extremely difficult for us to tolerate in our climate of instantaneous outcome.

Accustomed as we are to this approach, how could we possibly tolerate the slow-moving ways of the Divine? Not with any ease, that’s for certain. And I think any believer would attest to the difficulty. Who among us hasn’t experienced long periods when God’s plan seemed about as clear as a car window that’s just slogged through a rain-inundated country road?

But every once in a great while, we’re aligned just right with the mirror, and even though we’re still looking at things in hindsight, events and circumstances that have seemed confounding for a long while, perhaps, become abundantly clear. Kind of like that same car window after it’s been washed down with Windex and a nice cloth in the sunny aftermath of the rain shower.

At least that’s what it’s seemed like for me as I’ve taken up my new post as a reporter at our local daily newspaper, The Forum. All of the opened and closed doors alike for the past year — even the past decade — make so much more sense now. Where the line of life was once disjointed and fuzzy, I see things connecting, and a cohesive story in progress. Each writing endeavor, and even so many moments when I wasn’t writing, seem to have been preparing me for the work I began on Tuesday. It almost feels a little eerie to me how quickly I feel at home there. Has it been less than a week only?

I know God’s grace is also at work here. Without a doubt, the many prayers of family and friends have been powerfully evident to me interiorly. I also know that as nice a gift as this has been, this clarification of my life’s movement won’t remain this strong forever. There will be times ahead when some details will become incomprehensible. When that happens, I’ll have to try to remember to think back on this time when so many pieces of my life fit together in such remarkable fashion.

I’ll also remind myself that while mud pies may be present there, regular old mud doesn’t follow us to the life after this one. It’s only on earth when we can’t see the whole picture that blindness, confusion and frustration prevail. Someday, all will be crystal clear, everyday, all the time. What a beautiful reality to look forward to!

For now, I’m cherishing the gift of my precious glance in the rear-view mirror that’s shown me that at this time in my life, I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

Q4U: Do you recall an Aha! moment when events and outcomes that made little sense suddenly came into clear view? What did it feel like when things came together?