This morning's sermon took a passage from the book of Job where God chastises Job for doubting his power in the wake of losing everyone and everything in his life: his property, his children, and even his wife and friends in that they forced him to question the Lord's plan. So instead of explaining His reasoning, or giving any words of encouragement, God scolds Job, asking him where his faith is.
Even though the story goes on, and God and Job reconcile (in the human-Divine sort of way), I couldn't help but feel anger in the sense that I pitied Job. I mean, I understood that God was in charge of everything, but I figured if everything bad were to happen to me, I'd want to know, or at least have a metaphorical chicken bone thrown at me as a means of having something to enjoy in such a bitter time. So during the prayer at the end of the sermon, I closed my eyes, and suddenly I was driving on a road in which everything around my car was on fire. As soon as I discerned the meaning of this vision, I thought Oh crap!, and started to realize that God would reprimand me in the same way that he did Job if I were going to continue down that particular road of anger and demanding an explanation. I opened my eyes and started praying that I would accept that these type of things could happen and I would not question His power. As of right now, I'm still working/praying on that.
My best friend from home came up to Olaf for the weekend. Although the primary goal was to go to the Cubs/Twins game (in which the Metrodome practically was sold out for one of the few times of the season), the dynamic of the group between my one friend and all the Oles that he met was rather interesting. Between my Ole friends forcing me to do cartwheels while taking pics of them, and said friends (Twins fans as they are) making fun of me for being a Cubs fan, there was a lot of laughter, food, driving, and the process of making memories (courtesy of my roommate's digital camera). But I think for me mostly was learning quite a bit more about my friend, as well as everyone who got to meet him. I hadn't had this much sustained interaction (as far as joking around, making fun of people, etc) in a while, so while I showed some tension (mostly through uttering random 4-letter words while playing video games), I managed to keep my head up and still have some fun.
So I brought my friend to church this morning. Unlike most of my real good friends, he hadn't really gone to church most of his life, and he said he's looking to get more involved with the whole Christianity thing. Several other friends have been more active recently than in the past, so it's a good thing to see.
I also played a game of Ultimate Frisbee this afternoon. It went really well. I hadn't played it in a long time, and it felt good to show off my more polished discus throws, if not my blazing speed and other physical aspects of the game. I know God Himself had a hand in my effort, as I usually haven't been so effective in game situations. Now I just have to know that He is in charge around here, and not to try to understand the rationale behind the sometime bizarre actions He takes.
Thanks. :-)