Monday, December 15, 2008

Zurich and My Christmas Wish


I tend to be a big baby when I get sick. 

If have a cold or a sinus infection, I load up on over-the-counter meds and try to tough it out. 

Ok…that is, admittedly, a newer ability.

My wife will laugh when she reads this because she’ll know that “newer ability” means “within the past month”. 

I’ve never been a good sick person.

Laura, however, can wait until her sinuses explode the front of her face off before she goes to the doctor. 

She comes from hardier stock. 

Her father is hardiest of all. 

His advice is to drink a soda and beat the sickness into submission by sheer act of will.

My “will” is lucky if it says, “oh yeah?” to a sniffle, but against a heavy weight infection? 

It doesn’t even go one round. 

And, for me, nothing is worse than the stomach flu. 

Just typing the words (swallow) makes me (swallow) feel queasy (go lay on the floor).

Which is why, when my wife called and told me that the kids have been throwing up, she also said that she was glad that I wasn’t there. 

As it was, I was paranoid that the “bug” would become digitized and make its way to me via cell phone. 

Of course, the fact that I’m in New England and the kids are sick means one thing:

Missed work…

Almost a week of work. 

Missed work equals less money and less money results in worry. 

I’m not sure why we worry. 

God has been faithful to provide for us on countless occasions. 

Maybe it’s an attempt to control the uncontrollable. 

There’s a novel idea. 

Let’s worry about things we can’t change. 

And now, Johnny, tell them what they’ve won!  A beautiful, sunny trip to Ulcerland!

Sometimes I’m just not that bright. 

Anyway, in order to understand how puking kids and smaller paychecks show God’s glory, I need to back up one week.

Last Thursday, after we had a very non-spiritual phone conversation about our finances, Laura went and got the mail. 

There was a check in our mailbox.

From our friends in Zurich. 

Whenever I say “Zurich” and “check” in the same paragraph, I feel the need to explain that our friends are not spies, arms dealers, or stupidly wealthy American lumber barons hiding money from the IRS. 

They’re a musician and a frog doctor. 

For real. 

The memo on the check simply said, “Prompted by the man upstairs”. 

They meant God. 

Not Heinrich, the chain-smoking guy in the flat above them.* 

They had no idea that the kids were sick. 

They had no idea, nor did we, that Laura was about to miss a week of work. 

They were simply being obedient to what they believed God was telling them to do. 

And God knew what we needed. 

Before we knew we needed it.

But God, in His great love for us, saw fit to provide proactively. 

And yet, that pales in comparison to what God was up to in a Bethlehem stable. 

You see, while most people saw a baby in a feeding trough, God was entering our world to provide a way for us to have a relationship with Him again. 

Whether we knew we needed it or not.

Before I was born, or even aware of the depths of my own depravity, God was entering human history to provide for my redemption. 

And not just mine, but anyone who believes and accepts that free gift.

That’s really the gift of Christmas. 

Not gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Not ipods or a Wii. 

But Jesus. 

And so my Christmas wish echoes the words of the famous carol.

“Let every heart prepare Him room.”

 

 

 

* No offense meant to Heinrich. 

I have no idea if he’s a chain smoker. 

 

Or if he even exists at all.  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adam, Adam, Adam.....apparently you DID catch the bug via phone. Or from someone else at practice the other night! You are in my prayers, and stop stressing about the concert! Oh, and this is how amazing God is - your friends in Zurich probably sent that check BEFORE the kids were even sick!

Anonymous said...

Adam... I love it. I need to stop worrying and trust. He HAS proven and WILL prove Himself faithful again and again. Thanks for writing this. :) I needed it!