Surprises

Well everybody, laugh all you want. Yesterday was my birthday and I am now 22. And boy, do I feel it--I am getting old! (To see birthday pics go here: http://www.micahandmarilee.blogspot.com/ ).

On that note, I want to say a bit about the topic of surprises. You see, I am my mother's daughter. I hate surprises.

To illustrate, let me tell the story of my birthday last year. Micah, being pretty much the the greatest husband ever, decided to do the unthinkable (little did he know). He got up early the morning of my birthday and cleaned the house, made breakfast, arranged some presents he had bought for me (all of which were things I had been talking about wanting lately), and put flowers and balloons throughout the house. I'll include a picture for visual clarity:

So what do you think my reaction was to this birthday surprise? Oh, I cried and cried. And cried. I was so sad. (I know, I am redankyalous). Micah really was not sure about all the had occurred. (He couldn't understand that in a girls mind she really wants to buy new conditioner with their limited budget instead of propel waters, etc. etc.) It was quite the getting-to-know-you experience for both of us.

This year for my birthday I strictly told Micah: don't get up early, don't make breakfast, don't buy me anything, etc. etc.

To continue, let me tell you about John Polkinghorne. He was a distinguished Cambridge physicist and then became an Anglican priest. He has won several awards in science and religion, and works to apply the insights of physics to religious mysteries. He said this of surprises in what has become one of my most favorite radio interviews of all time:

"Mr. Polkinghorne: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think if working in science teaches you anything, it is that the physical world is surprising. And I was a quantum physicist, and the quantum world is totally different from the world of every day. It's cloudy, it's fitful, you don't know where things are, if you know what they're doing. If you know what they're doing, you don't know where they are. So that it's a complex world and quite different from what we expected. ...Now, if the physical world surprises us and is different from everyday expectation — common sense, if you like — it wouldn't be very odd, really, would it be, if God also turned out to be rather surprising. Things that are just on the surface, easy to believe, are not the whole story. There's a deeper, stranger and more satisfying story to be found, both in science and in religion. " (see here for link to entire interview: http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/quarks/transcript.shtml).

Doesn't that statement he makes just kind of feel right? I really believe that what we know of God most of the time can be so limited. Our human minds just can't comprehend, I don't believe, all that God really is. We are always trying to categorize and make things fit neatly in the tightly gripped folders of our minds.

In conclusion, I don't doubt at all that God is a person of surprises. And you know, this year for my birthday I really feel that I stifled Micah's natural personality and creativity. So I am making a vow now to try to encourage and appreciate more surprises in my life.