Our Stories
Divine Moments
By Keith Ferrin | posted 08/28/2008
"God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:27)
Sometimes there are moments, conversations, books, blogs, pictures, movies, or a whole host of other things that can trigger something deep inside you. I had one of those divine moments last week. On our vacation to Canada I read a book I've known about and have been meaning to read for several years. The book is called A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser.
The book looks at growing through devastating loss. Jerry wrote this book three years after losing his wife, his mother, and his youngest daughter in a single car accident with a drunk driver. After having all three die in his arms, he was left to raise his other three kids alone. It is truly one of the most thought-provoking, insightful, tragic, and hope-filled books I have ever read. It made me think. It made me pray. It made me pay attention.
I have had the opportunity to talk with Jerry, and spend time with his three kids (now in their late teens and early 20's), so I have known his story for a long time. But to read through how he processed the tragedy, and how he allowed God to use that tragedy to shape and transform him has been extremely powerful for me.
The divine moment I mentioned earlier happened as I was reading the last page. We returned from vacation and I still had about 40 pages left in the book. The next day, Kari was out running errands and the kids went up for quiet time. I told them when they could come downstairs and sat down to finish the book.
Jerry ends his book by talking about how the old hymn Be Thou My Vision has been a ray of hope and a reminder of God's presence for him in the years following the accident. The final paragraphs of the book are the lyrics to that hymn.
I was completely lost in the book and in my own thoughts about loss, God's presence, and what is valuable to me when my kids came bounding down the stairs shouting, Quiet time's over! Quiet time's over! I still had a couple more paragraphs to read and something inside of me just wanted to sit quietly for ten or twenty minutes and process what I had just read. C'mon...everyone knows you don't interrupt the last page of a book. That's sacred territory - like the last ten minutes of a movie or the 9th inning of a baseball game.
And yet, here was Caleb, asking me to fix something on a toy he found in his room. Then came the divine moment. Right as I was about to tell them to give me a bit longer, I heard a Voice inside my head say, Nothing is more important right now than fixing that toy. You've been reading about loss. Don't lose this moment. This is exactly the right kind of interruption. This moment is not about you alone. This moment is about you, embracing these children I've given you - because you're not guaranteed you will never lose them. The book was closed. The toy was fixed.
The thought of losing one - or all - of my children is beyond comprehension for me. We are literally days away from another little life joining our family. I haven't met her yet, but God is in the process of using her to change me already.
I am grateful that Jerry shared his own journey and wrote A Grace Disguised. God has used it to remind me to keep my eyes open, focus on what is really valuable, trust that God is a transforming, restoring God, and quite simply - to pay attention. He's always up to something.
Abundantly Grateful,
Keith
To respond to this message, email Keith at keith@thatyoumayknow.com.
Keith Ferrin is founder of That You May Know Ministries.
