Growing up in Detroit I started working at the family business at age 12. At first I thought I would probably work there the rest of my life. Then I started Confirmation class and fell in love with the Word of God. I never dreamed that God would call me to be a pastor instead of a wholesale florist. But that's what happened.
I married my childhood sweetheart. Yes, I did dream about that for many years before it came to pass. That was no surprise, but then Diana and I discovered that instead of children of our own God's plan was for us to adopt two beautiful girls and make them our own. And along came Rebekah and MaryBeth. Growing up I had hardly even heard of adoption. Who would have thought it?
I was a young, active pastor in suburban Chicago. I played racquetball, swam one kilometer several times a week. I was thin and fit when at age 34 when I woke up in the middle of the night with a heart attack. And two weeks later I had a second heart attack! I would have never dreamed that such a thing would happen to me at such a young age. But it did.
I was studying Scripture with my associate pastor and the outcome of our learning was a book published by Concordia Publishing House, our church's denominational publisher. I had dreamed of writing a book, so that was not a surprise. But when a few years later I was charged with false doctrine based on what I wrote in a book approved by the Missouri Synod I was shocked! I never dreamed that would happen. I never dreamed I would have to fight a four year battle to remain a pastor. Not in my wildest imagination.
I got through all of that and received several calls at the same time. Two were to Chicago, where we had lived previously for 12 years. I never dreamed I would end up accepting a call to Tacoma, Washington. I barely knew the Pacific Northwest existed, let alone that I would end up living there for almost ten years. What a blessing Our Savior, Tacoma turned out to be!
But after twenty five years of ministry and three heart attacks I was far from the thin and fit young man that I was when I had my first heart attack in 1984. I never dreamed that I would get back in shape in my mid 50's. Then God convicted me of the sin of gluttony and after losing 100 pounds I found myself riding my bike all over the west coast, literally. In five years I rode more than 20,00 miles. I never imagined I would ride from Canada to Mexico in three weeks and raise $11000 for ultrasound machines for Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
Along the way Rebekah found herself with child and no place to live. Yes, Diana and I urged her to move back in with us, but deep inside I confess that I was angry. I knew my life would never be the same. Now I'm ashamed of those thoughts, because I never dreamed what a blessing Elijah would be. If someone told me that I would get to be "father" to a boy 25 years after Diana and I adopted a baby girl I would have said they were crazy. I was right that my life would never be the same, in the most wonderful ways!
Then came Texas. Diana and I have always lived "up north." Then MaryBeth received a DCE Internship in Houston, Texas. The next thing we knew she was married and we had a brand new grandson "down south." Diana and I never dreamed that her last home would be in San Antonio, Texas, home of the Alamo. Yet, as we dug through her family history we found she had ancestors buried just a hundred miles from our home in Texas. And, yes, I had been to conferences at Concordia Lutheran Church, but I never dreamed that I would serve in ministry there. Yet, here I am blessed to be a part of this wonderful church family and their exciting ministry.
But God had another surprise in store for us, one that neither one of us would have ever dreamed of in our worst nightmares. Diana never smoked a day in her life so the diagnosis of Stage 4 Lung Cancer almost knocked us off our feet. She fought her battle for 18 months with faith, courage, and above all hope through Jesus. I never would have dreamed Diana would have died from lung cancer, but I should have known that she would bear her cross with grace and strength.
I never really thought about it that way, but I guess that in a certain sense in addition to being a pastor, I've been a wholesale florist most of my life. Ever since my grandfather passed away some of his shares in the family business were placed in trust for his grandchildren. When my father died I inherited some more shares. I never would have dreamed that at exactly the right time, when we were facing extra expenses from Diana's illness, the family business would be sold. It was a windfall that Diana and I never, ever counted on or even hoped for.
For my last birthday before she died Diana gave me a radio controlled C7 Corvette. She knew that I've dreamed of owning a Corvette my whole life. As she presented it to me she said, "This is the closest you'll ever come to owning a Corvette." At the time, I thought she was right. Then, the impossible happened, and I was able to not only own a Corvette but to drive one on a race track at Corvette Owners School.
My point in all of this meandering is that our plans are never God's plans. I ticked off about a dozen things that I never dreamed would happen in my life, but they did. If I started to name all the amazing, wild and crazy things that have happened in this world during my lifetime that I would have never dreamed of happening, I couldn't even count them all. The world today scares me. But when I look at my own amazing, wild and crazy life and see how God has been faithful through it all to uphold, sustain and bless me over and over again, then I have peace.
What has God done in your life that you would have never dreamed of happening? The next time life goes crazy and something wild happens, just remember that even though you never dreamed that would happen, God knew about it from the beginning of time. And He will see you through it, just as He has me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be driving that Corvette.
