The Way Life Goes

"The Way Life Goes"
Acts 16:6-15


A young mother was in a toy store looking at puzzles for her daughter.  The salesman was pushing a particular puzzle, but the mother protested.  “Isn’t this one a bit too complicated for her?”
“That, madam,” replied the salesman, “is an educational puzzle designed to prepare your child for life in today’s world.”
“How so?” the young mother asked.
The salesman answered, “Any way she puts it together is wrong.”


Life is a puzzle.
Sometimes
you pick up piece after piece
and find its place right away;
the big picture begins to take shape,
the boundaries become more distinct
and final
the parameters of life
will go so far
and no further.
But some pieces of the puzzle
are obstinently shaped
refusing to fit
anywhere;
How will such a piece
ever fit in--
does it even go
with what has already been pieced together
in your life?

That’s the way life goes
sometimes--
the pieces fit,
sometimes they don’t.
But the puzzling thing is
they are all your pieces--
you’ve got all these pieces
scattered out
all over your present life
all to be fit in
hopefully
some day in your future.
Or not.

Life is more than a puzzle--
it is a teaser
a practical joker:
some of the things you expect to happen
don’t
and,
the things you don’t expect to happen
do.
Life expects you to deal with either
or both--
you have no choice.
That’s the way Life goes.
Life’s expectations
can
and will
supersede your own.

Paul,
the great apostle of Jesus Christ,
stood at an intersection:
north to Bithynia
south to what was then called Asia.
Both places
equally ripe for the Gospel
equally ripe for Paul.
But,
every time
Paul flipped a coin
to see what direction
Life would take him
it would land on its side.
Every time.
Life had other plans for Paul.
That’s because
Life
more often than not
has more options
than heads or tails
than we are able to see.
Paul got stuck
thinking there were only two options--
thinking
“that’s all there is”
“that’s all there ever could be.”
What Paul had going for him, though, was
Conviction.
Conviction means
trusting Life.
Conviction means
knowing Life
has lots of options.
Conviction means
some times
patiently waiting
so Life
can show you
what those options are.
Conviction means
that you are at peace
even though
you aren’t in charge
of Life
or the direction
Life will take you.
Neither north
or south.
Paul finally asked the right question:
How about a different direction?
Maybe west?
He flipped the coin.
Heads!
Life was on the move again!

Life
can make your vision change.
Long-held dreams
even the short-held dreams
get altered
or scraped
by Life.
Besides conviction
the other best quality to have
when dealing with Life
is
adaptability
or
flexibility.
Only the adaptable people
survive
when Life forces a direction change.
Only the flexible are able to
bend
without breaking
when the Spirit of Life
blow hardest.

It is difficult
and some times sad
when an original
and long held vision
is pursued
and suddenly
and forcefully
Life says, “NO!”
North to Bithynia?
NO!
South to Asia?
NO!
But why?
NO!
No?
YES!
For mysterious
or frustrating reasons
the original vision
evaporates
and Life demands
that a new dream
must be dreamed--
a new direction
must be discerned.

Ever since my son, Ryan
was a little boy
he loved basketball.
From the first time
he slam-dunked
the nerf ball
through the nerf hoop
attached to his crib
when he was only a week old
he has loved the game.
He quickly graduated
to the official Michael Jordon hoop
affixed to a sturdy
thick,
cardboard paper tube pole.
That lasted,
maybe,
two weeks.
Finally,
I bolted a real
metal
basketball hoop
to the studs of our basement wall.
With me playing on my knees
I found out quickly
how humiliating it is
to get schooled
by a one-year-old in diapers.
He had hundreds of basketball cards.
Still does.
We have hundred of hours
of playing together--
I’m lucky I still have hair
my head’s been dunked on
so many times.
He has
I have
hundreds
if not thousands
of hours
of memories
of watching Ryan develop
and play so well.
It had always been Ryan’s dream
to play basketball
for as far as he could take it--
college
the pros.
For years he envisioned himself
a basketball player
who would keep making the cut
into the levels of the elite.
He had his sights set
on Bithynia
and Asia.
But during a two year period
Life stepped in
and changed his dream.
The vision
of his future
became squashed
by sad
and often painful
circumstances
by a coach.
Painful
for him to live through
and for me to live through
with him.
Through those two years
I prayed
and prayed
that Life would hold him up
and show him the way.
I prayed that his convictions
about himself
would keep him
as he would keep his convictions.
I prayed
that he would find peace
in being adaptable
and flexible.
I prayed
that even though Life
was saying, NO
to his dreams and vision
that Life
would say YES
by showing him
a new dream
and a new vision--
that Macedonia
whatever that would become for him
would catch his attention
and draw him forward.

When Paul arrived
in Macedonia
after being denied
going North or South
he landed in Philippi.
Though Paul had been
so many places already
doing ministry for the Savior
Philippi was to become his favorite--
and to the Philippians
Paul was to become their favorite.
It all worked out for the best.
By saying NO
to Paul
and his desire to go in one of two directions
and by saying YES
to Paul
to move in an unanticipated direction
Life
made his life
meaningful
purposeful
and most of all
blessed.

That’s the way Life goes.
That’s the way Life went
for Ryan.
I hope the same
for you.
I have experienced Life
that way
because
Life is God
and God is Life
and Life
and God
always has a way
of bursting forth
with a YES
even after
a NO
has been spoken.