Disruption: Thoughts on Life and Chaos

Recently I set a goal to keep the house in spic and span shape for five days straight.  Admittedly, this isn’t the most exciting thing one can do, but there’s something refreshing about having your surroundings in order….shirts hung neatly on their hangers, shoes in their rightful spot, junk mail sorted out and squared away.  It gives one a sense of orderliness, peacefulness, and, most importantly, control.  So, I set out last Sunday, spent a few hours getting rooms, bathrooms, and closets in top-notch shape, and determined to maintain my newfound tidiness for one week straight.

And then life happened.

My once-clean home is a far cry from its Sunday start.  And I’ve learned a great lesson while stepping over a pair of shoes to get to the door.  Life is full of disruptions.  As much as we’d like to arrange our life and circumstances (and even our physical surroundings) to fit our desired outcomes, we do not have ultimate control.  Some disruptions are minorly inconvenient, like when your maintenance man forgets to show up and your bathtub remains clogged.  Some are major, like an “I’ve got some bad news” medical report, a lay-off, or the end of a relationship.  The one common thread among the varying ranges of disruptions in our lives is this:  they invoke some sort of mess, some sort of loss.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  I’m learning that life, like my bedroom, is messy at times.  And that’s okay.  Because disruption, major or minor, reminds me that I know a Sovereign God who does keep all things in order, whether I have understanding of His purposes or not. 

So, tomorrow, I’ll get up, make my bed, and start over again, trusting in the God who brings order out of chaos.

*This blog is a modified version of one I originally posted July 15, 2015. Recent events in the United States have left my soul feeling weary and disrupted. Candidly, hope for a society where we all-just-get-along feels futile. In a way, it is….as long as we live in a broken world as broken people, we will experience broken relationships. And yet – this is the very world Jesus entered into. A world of chaos and disruption. Because He conquered death, we have ultimate hope of a world one day made right. And we can help give glimpses of that Kingdom now through the way we love God and love others.

“From the end of the earth I will cry to you; when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2