The way God often did things with me was to draw bullies.  At school, work, church.  It may not be apparent, but I am naturally shy and quiet.  It made me a target.  But what often happened (and will happen) is I could eventually fight back and get the better of then.  As I’ve said – hidden.  With skills and friends.

I don’t like it one bit.

My life was filled with showboaters and talkers.  Doesn’t it seem like they rule and run the world?  And wow it’s more apparent than ever.  You see it on social media – Instagram, X, LinkedIn.   Most of the time, I think to myself – please shut the f—- up – you’re really not saying much.  It takes a lot of thought and time to say less and more.

One of the most profound scenes about parenting is from the Godfather where an aging Vito has one last conversation with Michael about his vision.  It is profound and on point.  There are strings and levers to be pulled but it’s not what you think.  It’s easy to think it’s about power and politics- and yes, there’s a certain truth and reality to all that. 

Rather, it’s about the unseen.  The invisible spiritual with its unforced rhythms of grace.  We often conceive of God in our own image and that’s a really dumb and dangerous way to play it.  I do it a lot .

When you put God in a box, that’s what you’ll usually get.   But when you don’t, that’s when He can rise to the occasion and more.  At times, people thought I was stupid or weak because I remained quiet.  I was actually being careful, waiting for the right time to act, and planning moves.  Not fun or easy although satisfying at times.

The real lesson here though is to let God make His moves.  They are often quiet, hidden, counterintuitive.

Until they aren’t.