February 13

The Road to Damascus

            Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.  Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Acts 9:1-9

            One of the things that we see in Scripture over and over again is the life pivot of individuals that God has a purpose for.  The course of their life is set for one direction and then an interaction or event happens that radically shifts their direction.  This happens with Moses…a couple of times.  This happens with Gideon and the apostles and David and Noah and Mary, to name a few.

            This is the first life pivot for Paul.  He has made a name for himself by discovering and capturing members of the newly formed church.  He is smart and he is passionate and he will let nothing get in his way of cleansing this new heresy…until he meets Jesus.  All of Saul’s qualifications and abilities and zeal are reduced to nothing as he comes face to face with God Incarnate.  He is blinded and humbled and left to work through what his life is supposed to be about.

            Several of us have gone through life pivots.   A new relationship surfaces that changes where we live and who we are and what our future will hold.  A career path comes to an abrupt end and we have to recreate what our working life will be.  A child is born and the doctors inform us that there are complications.

            The single greatest life pivot in my life has been my son.  There is a seismic shift that occurs for a man when transitioning from boyfriend to husband.  The shift that occurs when you become a father dwarfs that.  Where once I only had to care about getting myself out of bed and tending to my own needs, now there is this amazing little bundle of Not-Me-But-From-Me.  And it cannot do anything for itself.  Sleep time was no longer my own.  Eating time was no longer my own.  My first birthday after my son was born, I received a Johnny-Jump-Up from my friends.  My Birthday was no longer my own.

            When that child has special needs, the transition is even more extreme.  My ideas about work/home balance shifted.  My ideas about community shifted.  My ideas about success and the future of my ministry shifted.  My twenty year vision shifted and gradually became something new.  My value of the present…the here and now as opposed to what was coming next shifted.  Looking back, I can barely recognize that mid-twenties me.

            Life pivots are not inherently good or bad.  Our attitude in dealing with them is probably the best indicator of whether they will result in positive or negative outcomes.  They often shake us to our core as our identity is redefined.  The key is to recognize that we are now living in a New Normal.  The way that we used to do things will probably not work as well anymore.  There will be bumps as we discover how to proceed in this transition; that is true of any transition.  Life after a pivot can be amazing…will be amazing, but first we have to let go of what we had and what we were before.  Saul was reborn after his encounter on the road to Damascus.  He was still smart and passionate and determined, but the focus and direction of his life had changed.

            My New Normal arrived on the day my son was born.  He does not know it, but he has been changing lives and transforming the world since his very first day.

              

A moment to reflect:

How did your life pivot after you had your child?