by Charlotte O  The unexpected comes when you think you know. When your version of reality is shattered by truth and you learn to see without the lens you’re accustomed to. Last year, I took a trip to Bali with one of my best friends, and on one of the days, we hired a driver and did a tour around the centre of the island. On the itinerary: a volcano, a coffee plantation, and rice terraces. Now, my expectation, was that one of those places would end up being a quickly forgotten stop during a whirlwind tour of the island. I’ve seen rice fields. I LIVE in rice fields. Or very near them. In fact, my first surreal “Asia moment” took place in one. I still remember it clearly, November 2004. Standing there and really truly being amazed by where I was, and having the reality that I’d left my entire life behind and moved to Asia really hit me as I looked at a terrain so impossibly different from the wheat fields of the Canadian prairies. Rice fields, while meaningful, had become entirely commonplace to me after more than 8 years in Asia. So back to Bali. Just as I was thinking, rice fields, big deal. When do we get to the coffee? our driver stopped at an overlook and what we saw took my breath away. These were vibrant green and wildly landscaped as they grasped their way up the hills and flowed with trickling water down the valley. The depth, the texture, the entire scene was, well unexpected. The pictures don’t do it justice. The unexpected comes when you think you know. When your version of reality is shattered by truth and you learn to see without the lens you’re accustomed to.  I think God does the same thing in our lives too, in fact, I believe he takes delight in giving us glimpses of what true reality is, a taste of what He can do and reminding us that our narrow view is apt to miss the wonder all around us. It’s a reminder that the descriptive words we read in so many beloved scriptures: immeasurably, abundantly, incomparably, are not just exaggerations. In fact, they are challenges. God is saying – I’m about to do something – do you have eyes to see? I’m already moving around you, do you have ears to hear? Are you so caught up in your expectations that you’ve lost a sense of expectancy when it comes to what the Creator of the Universe wants to do in your life?
May you be amazed again. Photo creds: My favoritest travel companion ever, Naomi B
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