Learning From the Life of a Dreamer

I'm looking forward to beginning our new message series at Hope this week. Hmmm... Now that I think about it, "looking forward" may not be the right term. Perhaps something like "nervous anticipation" would be better. Or "eager excitement." Or "diminishing hesitancy." Or "apprehension," "enthusiasm," or "cautious expectation." It's some combination of all those emotions.

You see, we're going to walk through the life of Joseph this Autumn, and that's a very personal subject for me. One year ago this week, I unexpectedly boarded a rollercoaster in life that's taken me to the highest of heights of personal discovery, transformation, and renewal. But it also plunged me to the depths of disappointment and woundedness. At the bottom of the drops I experienced the darkest sides of human behavior, including callousness, gossip, anger, blind denial, dishonesty, and even hatred. But at the tops of the hills I discovered rich friendships, hope, mercy, grace, intimacy, forgiveness, unimaginable blessings, and new beginnings. More importantly, on this journey I have encountered God in ways I never knew possible. (Perhaps some day I'll be ready to share the vision/experience of untethered joy and serenity in God's presence I was shown, but that's still pretty deep and personal.) God revealed to me things in my life that needed transformation, and that process continues even after a year. He also used the experience to bring our family to a new home, new friends, a new church, and a new beginning. There were days along the way when all I could do is hold on tight to the safety bars of the coaster, close my eyes, and resist the urge to scream with fear. But, as with all rollercoasters, the most dramatic hills and drops were at the beginning of the ride and now I'm coasting through the smaller turns and fun bumps as we're (hopefully) heading to the station. I'm certainly looking forward to getting off the ride for a while and munching on some cotton candy or something.

What does all this have to do with Joseph? Ah... that's what we'll be looking at this Autumn. Throughout this past year, my heart has been drawn to two places in scripture. Sometimes I found myself swept away by the beauty of the Psalms as they gave voice to the cries of my heart. God spoke the words of my prayers long ago through his servant David, and I was comforted and blessed by the brutal honesty of those Psalms. At other times, I was drawn to the story of Joseph and his own rollercoaster adventure. There were many parallels along the way, and I felt God's Spirit whispering to me, drawing me out of my circumstances, showing me things about my self -- and more importantly, about his sovereignty and grace -- that sort of kept me going when I felt like giving up.

And, in God's exquisite timing and sense of humor, the kids performed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat just before our move to Virginia. The lyrics and melodies of that show still linger in my thoughts. Sometimes, when I'm driving, I put on the CD and allow my emotions to ride the journey with Joseph once more as God reminds me of the lessons I've learned (and still need to learn). If you see me on the highway singing, laughing, and crying at the same time, it's a sure bet my thoughts are on the road but my heart is back in ancient Egypt.

So as we approach studying Joseph's life, I have this sense that God not only wants to share his life-changing truth with our church family; he also wants to do something in me. I tried looking at other subjects for our Autumn series, but my heart kept being drawn back to Joseph. I'm not sure I'm really ready to preach through his life just yet, but I'm trusting that it's not about my anyways; it's about what God wants to say.

Lord, even as my mouth shares your word, open my ears to hear. Even as I teach, I want to learn!

If you're in the area and know of someone who has been on a rollercoaster of their own, please invite them to join us at Hope beginning this weekend. I'm confident that they'll find comfort and perspective in the pages of Genesis and the story of a dreamer. And let's buckle in and enjoy the ride together...