Unexpected

Today I was having lunch with my district superintendent and his assistant. It was unexpected. I was having lunch with a friend and just as we were finishing they walked in and invited me to sit with them while they ate their meal.

We bantered back and forth about all kinds of subjects. We speculated about who is going where and who will fill this job and that job. It was fun thinking about the future and what it might hold.

Then my district superintendent used a word that I have been thinking about ever since he said it. The word he used was "unexpected." He mentioned that we never know what tomorrow will hold.

Little did we know that while we were discussing that word, Tim Russert of Meet the Press fame collapsed at work while doing voiceovers for his Sunday program. He was 58 years old. Unexpected. Tonight his family is stunned by the unexpected.

Unexpected.

I remember several years ago hearing news of the passing of a college president who died at age 57 from a brain aneurysm. The community he served and the family he loved experienced the unexpected. Dr. Cecil Paul was a great man.

I recall learning of the death of a former district superintendent from cancer that invaded his liver and other vital organs. Even though he had suffered for months, the news of his death at age 61 was unexpected. Dr. Chuck Zink was a great man.

Today, I have been reflecting on the lives of those who have gone before me and am grateful for their contribution.

As Wesley once said, "He who governed the world before I was born shall take care of it likewise when I am dead. My part is to improve the present moment. And together, with God's blessing, we can."

These men "improved the present moment" that they lived in. They believed that the God who governed the world before they arrived on the scene continues to take care of it in this moment.

There is nothing unexpected about that fact.

God, help me to be "fully present in this moment."