Extraordinary Things in Our Ordinary Life

Packing Day. Egad. Not only do I hate it, but I'm extra annoyed because I certainly didn't plan to do it so soon! But...that was my plan, not God's.

So, I packed today, and will again tomorrow, and the day after that. I pepper my packing with a lot of thinking - most of it good stuff. In fact, I think about everything that we get to be a part of here: almost daily rainbows (saw one over an almost full moon, still shining bright at 7 in the morning! Super cool!), moonlight so bright one can play golf by it (and Gregory has), sunrises that make Lana'i and Moloka'i soft pink, and ever-changing clouds. Don and I start every day in the Word - he, at the dining table; I, on a lounge on our lanai. Don brings me a cup of tea and we start our devotional, reading, discussing, sharing, and praying. Yesterday, however, I added wallowing-in-self-pity to the morning agenda. How could such a God like this, who loves me, take me away from this extraordinary place when there are people in the world who have this kind of view and they take it for granted and they are all sour on things, whereas I have always been appreciative and love views and never got tired of looking at anything beautiful that He has made and wah-wah-wah!!

There is a tale that's been around a while, of a man of God during a flood. He was standing out on his porch when a big flatbed truck rolls through the flooded street, with a few soggy but safe folks in the back. The driver calls out to the man on the porch, "C'mon, sir! Flood waters are rising! Jump on!" The man replied, "No, thank you, brother, the Lord will save me!" Soon, the waters rise so much that the man is looking out his second story window, when a small motorboat goes by. The man in the boat calls to the man of God, "Sir, it's getting pretty bad! C'mon with me!" Again, the man of God waves off his would-be rescuer, "No, thanks, brother! The Lord will save me! God bless!" Before long, the man has been chased up to his rooftop by the flood. A helicopter hovers overhead, and a voice over a bullhorn calls,"Sir, we're lowering a rope for you! The levees have broken and your house will soon be under water!" The man of God looked up at the copter, smiling broadly, but not grabbing the rope. He shakes his head and yells, "That's okay!! I don't need it!! The Lord will save me!" and the helicopter pulled up its rope and flew away. Sure enough, the house was covered by floodwaters, and the man of God died. As he was standing before the Lord, he was confused and saddened. "Lord," he said, "I waited for you! Where were you? Why didn't you save me?" The Lord looked at him and said lovingly, but firmly, "But I tried! I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter!"

For the past few weeks, Don and I have been in a teeter-totter of emotions and faith, but always looking for the Lord in the midst of our "flood". We are to be out by Friday and we had no where to stay - even for the short term. uh, Lord?!!?!? I think our feet are getting wet!! Enter the helicopter. A new friend and client of Don's heard of our situation and insisted we check out one of his properties in Lahaina. I honestly didn't want to, but he persisted, having a friend of his show us after church yesterday. What looked like a kind of run-down Hawaiian bungalow opened to reveal a stunner of a house...right on the water. What was old Hawaii outside was warm and modern inside, with a lanai that extended the length of the house and a second lanai with lounges right by the waves crashing on lava rock. I now was annoyed because I knew this was way out of our budget.
We met with this fellow again, and he was determined. We are moving into this place-from-a-postcard-or-beer-commercial on Saturday, staying there for at least a month, maybe two, for waaaaaaaaaaay below what he gets for rent. Our helicopter.

Extraordinary.