Wonders Among Us
I am always amazed at the way the Lord brings people into my life. In 2019, Carah and I found ourselves at a 7-day marriage retreat on the island of Kauai. In 2018, all of our adult children had finished school, were working, and were entirely independent, while Jordan had just gotten married and moved to Singapore. We found ourselves tired and empty.
Late in the summer of 2018, Carah showed me this marriage conference, and all I could think about was how most of marriage was focused on raising kids. We needed some "Us Time," and what better way to do it than to spend 10 days in Hawaii, while also taking some time for a health check-up on our marriage? At that moment, we declared 2019 the "Year of the Parents"
Once we arrived at the conference, it was then that I realized I was going to meet face-to-face with the Ambassador of the Republic of Uganda to the United States. A panic came over me as I felt unprepared. I got my iPad out and began preparing. Who was this guy? What was important to him? What were the core values of Uganda? I sure wanted to have a genuine, sincere conversation with this man and didn't want to come unprepared.
The next day, at the end of the conference, was my big moment to meet Bob Goff, the speaker, author, and Ambassador for the Republic of Uganda, who was speaking that day. This man was inspiring and taught me many things that weekend; the two biggest takeaways were:
1. I do not dream big enough.
2. Bob is a sinner just like me, and filthy rags before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As I reflected this week on my visit with Bob, one thing has stuck in my mind. Do I worry about meeting Jesus as I did in 2019 when I was going to meet Bob Goff? Each week, we enter the Lord's house with very little thought, and rarely do we prep for meeting Him. I was worried about a sinner who writes books, and I put very little thought into meeting the King of Kings in His house. 
I worry that a causal mindset is affecting my time with the Lord. Am I taking Him for granted? Do I really value His presence on Sunday? Do I prepare for it? Could this be the reason why the presence of the Holy Spirit is thicker on the night of the Well because I prepared my heart before ever going into the Worship Center?
Joshua 3:5 says "Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." but do I come to church with this mindset? Do I wake up on Sunday with a heart of concentration before I come to church? Do I expect the Lord to do wonders?
Romans 12 says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." But do I prepare or am I conformed to the world?
Perhaps I am the only one who longs to be closer to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but I cannot get close enough, and I am more certain than ever that He wants me to be closer to Him, too. This Sunday is Communion, and I wonder what would happen if we started today with a longing to meet the King of Kings and prepare our hearts long before we arrive at the church on Sunday.