The past few weeks, okay who are we kidding, months really, ever since the mission trip to Tanzania/Ethiopia have been a bit of a whirlwind…and even that’s putting it mildly.

But I also recognize that I’m not the only one who feels like life sometimes moves at a frenetic pace leaving us struggling in its wake to just hang on. It almost feels like a firehose in the face where everything just keeps coming at you and all you can do is hope to catch your breath before the next barrage comes along.

The past few days have been particularly difficult – and then this happened. As I drove our daughter to school this morning and turning into the parking lot, I noticed the long line of oncoming cars attempting to cross and finally get their turn to enter the school parking lot. So, I decided to let several of them pass in front of me. And then just as I let one more car pull in front of me I noticed their license plate. It said, “GDS GOT ME”. God’s Got Me. Now, maybe it’s pure coincidence, or perhaps it was God trying to remind me that in the midst of all the recent chaos, struggle, pain, sadness, and all the other stress – that God was in fact with me and tending me the entire time.

I started to reflect more deeply about God’s presence in my life and wouldn’t you know it, there had been signs everywhere – God’s touchpoints in my life where God was leading, guiding, directing, comforting, reassuring, blessing and so many more moments of God’s grace and love. God showed up in text messages, and unexpected visitors at our house, in the kindness of a thank you card, a treat left on my desk, a beautiful gift weaved by a child, a hand on my shoulder, and then here in the most unexpected of places – on a license plate.

I try each day to be aware of God’s presence and listen for God’s whispers, but if I’m being honest then the truth is many times I let the chaos around me take over and drown out God’s presence. It took a moment of patience this morning, to not feel rushed to get into the parking lot, to recognize the difficulty of the drivers trying to cross over. And for whatever reason today I noticed, today I was patient, today I was kind…and then there it was. I find it interesting that had I not been patient, or kind, or inviting, had I not recognized the struggle of others then I would’ve missed God’s gracious reminder that was waiting there the whole time.

So, today I’m trying to slow down a bit and while I know I won’t always get it right, I’m counting on God’s grace to keep showing up in unexpected moments, in the moments of messiness and chaos, and in the moments I neglect to listen to God speaking to my heart. I’m trusting in God to lead and guide me, to hold and reassure me, to bless, empower, and send me. The message was clear, God’s got me. And God’s got you. God’s got all of us. And that brings to mind a song that I think says it all, “He’s got the whole world in his hands…”. Okay, okay, God, I hear you. Thank you! Keep singing over us!

Pastor Tony