Happy Friday Eve! I hope your week has been going well, and I hope that today’s and tomorrow’s work days are fast! It’s been quite a long week for me, and this teacher is tired! Report cards go out next week, so we’ve all been making sure our I’s are dotted and our T’s are crossed before everything is set to be submitted. Teachers, you feel me right? Not gonna lie, it’s felt a lot like this lately.
But, the weekend is almost here and so is our fall break, which is really just one day and then a work day. I’ll take what I can get, though.
Anyway, I have been continuing my Bible reading through the New Testament, and I have come through Mark and am making my way through the first few chapters of Luke this week. I took some time Saturday morning to reflect on what Mark taught me about Jesus. I have a long list, but the one I’m going to share today has to do with the last chapter, chapter 16, and how I related to the women who were going to prepare Jesus’ body.
Mark 16:2-4 “Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb (3) and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’ (4) But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.”
I felt such a connection with those women because they set out on their task that day and on the way to the tomb realized there was actually a big obstacle (quite literally) in their way. They had forgotten that there was a stone rolled in front of the entrance. They must have been thinking about how important the work they were about to do was. They must have wanted it to be just right making sure they had the right spices and the right oils. It must have been an honor to prepare the body of Jesus in such a way. So, I imagine they just got really into getting the supplies together and going over the procedure of what they were to do with Jesus. No one stopped to think about how they were actually going to get to him. Not until they were on their way. No doubt their lists had been checked and triple checked to make sure all ingredients were present and accounted for.
But on that walk to the tomb…
Don’t you think one of them stopped dead in her tracks and looked to the other and said, “Wait! The stone! How do we even get in there?”
This is absolutely where I can relate. I’ve hastily done something only to be halfway there when I have to stop and think, wait…I’ve forgotten this really important detail or hurdle that I’ll need to overcome. It’s always a discouraging feeling. You are so proud of yourself for having it together and thinking how successful you’re about to be and BAM! Setback. Has that ever happened to you?
Sometimes in those instances God decides that He’s going to make a way even though you think the setback is huge. It happened on Resurrection Day. He sent an angel to roll it away for them.
Let me tell you how this happened to my dad last Friday.
My dad commutes to work everyday to Montgomery. He has been driving his truck which doesn’t get the greatest of gas mileage and decided that he wanted to get a car that would. Well, his off day last week was Friday, so he decided to take care of everything that day. Dad ran into a situation where he needed my and my brother’s addresses and needed them quickly. Typically in the classroom I don’t get to answer a text back right away because of the 20+ students that are in my room that need my attention. My brother usually didn’t get back to texts quickly either due to the nature of his job. Well, wouldn’t you know that on the day my dad goes to purchase his new car, I am available to see and respond to texts nearly instantly because I was at a professional development training, and my brother has started a new job that allows him to respond to texts quickly, too. My dad had no idea he’d need this information or he’d have gotten it ahead of time. He likes to be as prepared as possible when it comes to stuff like this. But when he found out he needed this info, he sent us both a text and we were each able to respond almost instantly.
Now, I know this is a small detail and nothing like mountain moving or anything, but I have to believe that God made a way for us to be available to those texts at that specific time so that there would be no delay in the car buying process. I mean, had I been in the classroom, it might have been an hour later before I checked that message. Had Andrew been at his old job, it might have been longer.
So, when God means for something to be, it will be. He meant for that stone to be rolled away so that the women could go tell the disciples. And see Him first. And God meant for my dad to have complete ease in buying a new car. Sometimes we don’t even realize when God works things out for us. Take time to look out for those moments when it all works out just in the nick of time. And don’t forget to give a quick, “Thank you, Lord”.
Have you every experienced something like this? I’ve been so blessed to experience this more than once, and I’m always in such awe at how great God is. I was amazed at how one simple thing as being available for a text message helped my dad out so much. It truly is the little things.
