PREPARATION
Bart's death was unexpected. He was too young, barely in his forties. All who knew him will miss him. Bart Phillips was a man blessed with intensity; he lived all his years with abandoned. It was that free spirit that endeared him to so many. He got it right!
He won't be remembered for his failures or successes, he captured a place in our hearts because he was unexpected. He chose to surprise us with his passion. It seems, God loved to take him off-road and when God takes you to new places and fills you with new dreams the unexpected always happens.
Bart's memorial service was winding down; we had laughed and cried and honored the man who was best friends with everyone in the room. Just before the benediction she stood and quietly walked to the platform. Poised and confident, she took the mic, bowed her head for a second, looked up, and spoke of her love for Bart and his love for their young boys. There was grit and depth in her voice and resolve in her words.
She closed with this, "If I could have 30 minutes with my Bart, just 30 more minutes, I would slow dance with him and spend every minute telling him all the reasons why I love him and always will."
At that moment, in that place, Suzi Phillips was unexpected and those of us present will never forget her words, or her passion.
I am through setting back wishing for the unexpected, I'm through dreading the unexpected. And, I'm through praying for the unexpected. From this day forward, I choose to live my days, being unexpected.
Last year Faith Notes focused on "looking for the unexpected", but this year it's time to get "off-road", it's time to BE unexpected.
INSPIRATION
It was prayer request time at church and Josh did the unexpected. He had always stayed in his seat, quiet and private, but this time he wrote down three little words on the prayer card. Then he stood, walked to the front and boldly dropped the card into the prayer basket.
"Save my Dad," were the three hope filled words.
Josh's dad, Val, met me at Starbucks. We ordered our Grande's and sat in the cushioned chairs in the corner. "Tell me why we're here," I began.
"I need to tell you about the mirror," he replied. "For most of my life, I have focused on me. I have done whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it. I've wasted too many years, to drunk to think. I've broken one relationship after another, spent money I didn't have, lost myself in gambling, lived in strip clubs and lap dance bars. And a few years ago I tried my best to shoot the top of my head off, but the gun
misfired."
"Sounds past tense?" I responded.
"Something totally unexpected, God got my attention. It happened when I looked in the mirror and nothing was there. It was as if I didn't exist--no face, no hair, no nothing. It freaked me out, and no I wasn't drunk. I haven't had a drink in years. I think God was showing me how wasted my life has been, like I was missing in action. And, I got the message."
"What message?"
"I hadn't cried in years, but that night, I cried. I fell to my knees and took the first step in turning my life around. I gave ME to God. Surely he can do better with me than I have done. And maybe I could get my face back."
"I hadn't seen my wife in months, but that night I called her and asked her if it would be all right with them if I showed up at church on Sunday? I know I shocked her. Until that night she was pretty confident that the only time she would see me in church would be at my funeral."
"But that night she managed to say that she guessed it was all right."
"So, on Sunday, I walked into church expecting to find it loaded with hypocrites. I was truly surprised. I discovered a bunch of people who were there because sometime in the past God did the unexpected in their lives, too."
"I'm here because I want to talk to someone who can help me keep going. I'm in way over my head and I'm not sure what's normal and what to expect."
"Well," I said, "I can't tell you what to expect. There is no script. The unexpected will continue, but I'll share those moments with you as long as you'll let me."
We connected that day. For that moment, God's Spirit was forging a new friendship. Then as Val got ready to leave I said, "Your mirror event, was a 'God thing;' It really wasn't about you, it was about God responding to Josh's prayer card. It was about Josh asking God to do something totally unexpected. And it sounds like he did it with style."
MOTIVATION
It's a challenge to be unexpected, especially those for us who live in the planning and strategy world. Many of us have spent a lifetime purposefully trying to remove the unexpected from our lives.
You say, you could never do what Suzi did; you could never speak at a funeral. "Why?"
- Can you walk to the front and pray for someone you love?
- Can you put your faith in action?
- Can you give when no one expects you to give?
- Can you forgive, when it seems impossible to forgive?
- Can you put in a good word for a friend, when others are laughing at him or her?
- Can you burst out in song when everyone else is quiet?
- Can you take the stairs when others take the elevator?
- Can you talk to the forgotten nobodies and listen to their stories?
- Can you find good in a pile of dung?
Then, do it!
Be unexpected.
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