Spontaneous

Today I'm in the beautiful city of St. Catharines, Ontario in Canada. This is the city where I spent a large portion of my life growing up. It's an incredible time of year to be here as the trees are changing color and the leaves are showing off some intense shades of red, yellow and orange. The city sits on Lake Ontario and on a clear day you can see the outline of Toronto located about 30 miles straight across on the other side. Another reason this is a great time of year to be here is because Monday was Thanksgiving. Yes, for all my American readers who didn't already know this, the Canadian Thanksgiving is in October. I spent the weekend seeing some family that I haven't seen in three or four years. I've eaten way more food than should be humanly acceptable and laughed more than I have in a long time. It's been a very nostalgic visit as I have driven around the city showing my wife and kids the places I went to school, houses I used to live in and taken them to eat the food I grew up on. There is something about the holidays that sparks the sentimental side of all of us...at least those of us that have pleasant memories of the holidays. But before I left TN to come see my family, everyone was asking why we "Canadians" celebrated Thanksgiving in October. I'll be honest with you; I didn't really know the answer. I grew up traveling with my family in both Canada and the U.S. and I learned history from both countries and sometimes my information blurs together. So I did what any normal person would do...I Googled it. Here's what I found out. (And so you know, I'm going somewhere with all of this.)

Basically the tradition dates back to 1578 and has occurred kind of randomly since then. It has been a day marked by celebrating different events in our nation’s history. Thanksgiving was held on different days throughout the year in observation of different events like the end of wars, the recovery of the Prince of Wales from sickness and most commonly the end of harvest. But Thanksgiving Day didn't become a statutory holiday until the late fifties. On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."

I went for a walk Tuesday morning to try and feel normal again after a weekend of what could only be described as competitive eating. I stopped to take in the breathtaking early morning view along the lake side path I was on and I began to think about what I had learned about this celebrated day. It amazes me how many things we celebrate started with a proclamation that included God. Then, after generations have passed by, God begins to take a backseat to misinformed traditions. I don't think I'm the only one that feels like sometimes holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter have become...complicated. The days and weeks leading up to these treasured days have become consumed with preparations to make the day perfect. These preparations tend to lead to a lot of stress. Then when the day arrives, we are so caught up in making sure everything comes together perfectly that we tend to lose the enjoyment of the day. The best part of any holiday in my opinion is the unplanned part. The conversation, the laughter, the spontaneous games and activities.

I began to think about how this is also true in our everyday lives. I think for myself, I get so caught up in the planning of day to day events that I've lost the spontaneity of life. The fact is I try to lay out my own plans so much that I forget at times that God has written my story ahead of time. He has a plan and purpose for me that I tend to ignore sometimes in an effort to organize my life. God desires to have "spontaneous" moments with each of us, but we miss out on them because we plan to meet God on Sunday or in the 10-30 minute window we have scheduled with Him for our devotion time. We plan times of ministry, times of sharing our faith to make sure everything is just the way we want it. We plan times for God to speak to us. But read the bible, God doesn't really operate that way a lot. He is a God of planned spontaneity. In other words, God plans His encounters with us, but many times it is when we least expect it. Take the calling of so many disciples who were just out doing their thing and then Jesus called them to go with Him right then. What about Paul on the road to Damascus and is suddenly encountered by Jesus. See just like this holiday of Thanksgiving was originally declared to be a day to remember the blessings of God, our everyday lives are supposed to be centered around God as well. Some of the greatest encounters with God came when I least expected them. Most often these encounters came when my heart and mind were clear of distractions and plans, no matter how good my intentions were with them.

I guess I'm left with this...set time aside to spend with God. Go to church, attend small groups, and plan moments of prayer. BUT, don't get so caught up in your schedule that you miss God when He "pops" in for a visit. Don't be so busy that you can't answer the phone when that person He sends your way needs to talk. Don't try to determine your ministry so precisely that you lose the faith to let God use you in new ways. Be careful of making your schedule so full that you can't follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to go talk to that person about Christ. Remember, our lives are first and foremost supposed to be about God and His plans for us.