Walking through the woods this evening, I saw a tree that had been knocked over by the tornados. This particular tree was different from all the other "downed trees." It had started a chain reaction. It fell over, knocking over another tree, and that tree knocked over another. The total wreckage of these three trees end-to end was over 20 yards distance. But, looking at the root structure of the middle tree, with the catylist tree  trunk lying through it, you could see that those two trees were victims of collateral damage...fallout from one big collapse. 

     I'm sure we've all suffered collateral damage at some point in our lives, but some can be more devastating than others...and all seem so needless. It seems that God allows such damage to affect our lives, even when we are spared from the storm itself. But, riding by Berry College's old Gate of Opportunity a couple of days ago, seeing again the myriads of trees down, it struck me how odd for nature to attack nature! The wind destroyed the trees...nature was unleashing itself on itself. Such a strange state of affairs. And, God allows it to happen.
     Deuteronomy 23:5 "... but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you, because the LORD your God loved you." We often can not see further than the ground level destruction. We do not see what lies beneath the surface, what lies above in the canopy that is affected by the fall of the tree, or even what lies ahead for the land, beyond these days of wreckage. All we see is the fallen. Geronimo! We would be surprised to see and hear the living in store around the corner, that stems from our collateral damage. The damage is merely nature's way of recreating nature, the blessing from the curse.

These are  the same trees, just from a slightly different angle. The first pic shows 4 trees, but the tree in the front to the right had three trunks of its own. The second pic was taken after the recent tornados. It shows only 3 trees, and the three trunk tree is now a two trunk tree. I thought it was such an ugly view when it first happened, and you can see that the tree that fell back in the back is still laying on the ground. All the others were hauled away. Both are sunrises, as you can see. It is still shocking to me to see the missing tree, because it's like a missing person. But, watching the sunrise on May 11th, I realized that the scene has a new beauty.

     You see, before the two trees on the left side were side by side, together.  They stood as one on the hill beside the water there, and created a unified view at life around the pond. Of those two trees, the one that rises on the right is actually planted to the left. They both lean until they cross each other, much like they are embracing. What shocks me most when I look at the scene now is the fact that the one tree seems to be half gone. Yet, the tree on the front right, the now 2 trunk tree, looks no different really from a glance, and it is actually 1/3 gone. One tree makes all the difference.
     I can tell that it is only the fact that I know what it looked like before that bothers me. If I had never seen the pair, I would think, "How beautiful!" But, the more I look at the new scene, the more I realize, that one tree that stands there now seems to have expanded, and fills the space all by itself. It seems like it has spread its arms out to fill up the emptiness. The only empty space is when I look at the trunk. There were two trunks.
     Change is like that. What can be so shocking in life, often turns out to have its own beauty...after the storm.

     We have a prayer list, whether on paper in our pocket, or tucked in our head for the next traffic light. Remember the honeysuckles? I spoke of them and the fact that I had never prayed for them and that some things we never expect. It is a sad footnote that the things we pray for are often in a limited set. Let's call the things we often pray for, Set P, in the mathematical sense of course. Let's call the things God gives us, Set G. G for Grace of course. Grace is such a broad term that you may have a hard time putting your finger on it, but it can be simply stated as God's favor and compassion; kindness. We translate that as gifts in our own heads of course. But that's ok with God, I am sure. He never complains does He? But, our source of frustration can usually be found in a venn diagram as I've illustrated below.

John 1:3-4  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  
     We have also spoken of light...and darkness. There are two sides to the battle between light and darkness... before and after the cross. We think of grace as including what God did for us at and since the cross, to save us, because we are saved by grace. But, grace is more than the crosswork of Jesus. Grace began at creation. Through the creative work of God, we are all given life, and sunshine, and a world to enjoy, which is considered common grace, or things provided to us through God's general providence. These are the things we are reminded to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day...common grace. We usually think of redemptive grace during the ceremony of communion, or at the altar. (Incidentally, if you do not believe in creation, skip redemption; it is a package deal. God can not redeeem what was not His to start with, can He? Redeeming is "buying back" what you've lost. We sold ourselves out in the Garden as a race, and individually since birth.)
     What is in Set G above? All of nature belongs inside of Grace. Nature is God's grace. The same mind that worked out our salvation for us has been working for us throughout the ages, and heaping lovingkindness on us.
All nature is one big gift of God's providence. The sweet scent of the flowers, the breath of air from the trees, the mountains for climbing and viewing, the beauty and comfort we receive wrapped in the arms of nature are all part of  the goodness of God. God gives us this Earth, the sun and stars, to enjoy and to live our life to the fullest. This can be expanded to include all material goods, God and man made. Redemption belongs in Set G. Redemption is given to us to draw us in love to the Savior. With salvation it is made possible for us to experience oneness with the God of the universe, an experience of connection on which all happiness can be built. So, God has given us the world, and He has given us Himself. How much can be left in Set P, that is not part of Set G? Really it only amounts to the particulars. Remember that I said before that I prayed for babies with big brown eyes? That is an example of a particular. What I really wanted to have was people to love and take care of, and to teach and give something of myself. I saw that as obtainable when my baby sister would come get in the bed with me sometimes, and she loved me because I did all of those things for her. She would talk and talk while I tried to stay awake, and I would lay there silently looking into her big brown eyes. So, that is the source of that prayer. God's grace included that this desire I had would be met in this way. And, He threw in the brown eyes for good measure. I guess He knew I would be thankful. He could have chosen to give me what I wanted in a different way. But, I often find that God has included "surprise" gifts in Set G, for which I never asked. Only when we can reach into the larger set can we find all that God has in store for us. 
     There have been times that I would allow my children to have something, which was not quite as much as they had hoped for; maybe less money, less time, or less things. Or perhaps it was more; more chores or rules than they had hoped at the moment. Sometimes they would seem upset about this arrangement. My answer was usually, "I agreed to this to please you. If you are not pleased with this, then I won't give this either, since that is not going to give me the pleasure of making you happy." Invariably, they suddenly became pleased instantly with what I had agreed. Sadly, even though God has given us much, just like children, we can become discontent and withhold praise that God is due for His greater grace, because of what it does not include.
     There is no such thing as Plan B with God. He does have a plan, which he has been working since creation. Those things that seem wrong in your life, those things that are missing in Set P above; those all can be found in the outer part of Set G since they figure into God's grace. This is why God told Apostle Paul that His grace was enough. He did not mean that what He had given was all Paul was getting, in a limiting sense. He meant that Paul needed to reach into the outer part of set G and find what matched this need. Paul was asking for something outside of God's plan, from the outer part of Set P. It is not wrong to ask in prayer many times for things that are on your heart. The point is that continual prayer on a topic will change you. It will change you to the point that you can reach what you are praying for, or to the point that you understand God's grace for your need. All efforts to reach for God are God-inspired and are pleasing to Him. Afterall, no one is motivated to pray for anything by Satan. Satan doesn't want us to pray. God is honored that we bring Him our deepest desires, no matter where they are in the Venn Diagram. Let Him work out what is sufficient for you. If you never ask, you are not giving Him a chance to love you. 
Mark 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 
     This verse says it simply. But, it doesn't mean that you will receive everything for which you pray. It means that you will find the point where God's grace is enough for you. Do the Math!