Fingerprints in the Stillness
If you were to identify the defining moments in your life, what would they be? What are the moments in your life that have shaped you or changed your life’s trajectory? Graduation from college? A wedding? The birth of your children? Your first real “grown-up” job? Perhaps the start of a new business adventure?
Sometimes our most defining moment is a life-altering illness, accident, childhood trauma, or an extended time of grief and loss. My horseback riding accident instantly changed the course of my life. Even though I was catapulted out of the saddle, this was not my most defining moment; it was merely setting the stage for the rest of my journey. Between then and now, there have been numerous defining moments, many of which came in small, barely audible whispers.
Do you ever think about the moments in your life that go by relatively unnoticed, yet turn out to be game-changers? A casual conversation with a friend: “Hey, this summer, I’m working at a summer camp for disabled children and adults. Perhaps you’d like to join me.” And so you go—scared and anxious, unsure of what you’ve gotten yourself into. But your experience there opens up an entire new world you never knew existed.
Or, after moving to a new location, you decide to try out the church that’s closest to you, simply because it’s the closest. After attending for two weeks, you feel you’ve suddenly reconnected with long-lost friends, adding rich layers of ministry opportunities that now define your purpose for moving to this location in the first place.
Often, our most significant moments come in the quiet hush of an ordinary day, not in noisy celebrations. I’m reminded of the incarnation of Jesus. In the most significant event of the Christian faith, Jesus was born in the stillness of night. No noise. No celebration. Just the sacredness of silence.
The shepherds experienced a significant event in their lives, but again, it came in the ordinary calm of a star-filled night. Out of nowhere, an angel appeared to make the announcement that the Savior had been born. Soon others joined in, and at that point, Heaven celebrated with a loud chorus: “Glory to God in the Highest.”
For those of us who have placed our faith in the living God, He becomes the greater context of everything that happens to us. All of it—the good, the bad, and the ugly messes we often find ourselves in. He’s always inviting us to become more aware of His presence and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. His Spirit is always working within us and around us, but too often, we’re too busy to notice.
I’d like to invite you to take a moment and ask yourself these two questions: Where have I come from? and Where am I going? Use a timeline to map out your most defining moments which have brought you to the place you are today. Do you see it?
Can you see the fingerprints of God working and weaving your story together, even when you were unaware of it? Even if your past has been riddled with pain and difficulty, can you identify the people and events that have shaped you? My accident was the loud event that changed my trajectory, but it was the quiet, faithful moments that followed which proved His heart is always worth trusting.
My friend, God is always working. He never sleeps or slumbers. He’s the shade at your right hand and the One who calls you beloved. When you can’t see His hands, you can always trust His heart.
Defining moments are all around us.
