I DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO KNOW

I'm writing for Five Minute Friday.  Today's prompt is SPONTANEOUS

Definition of spontaneous:  performed or occurring as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination, without premeditation or external stimulus; having an open, natural, and uninhibited manner; occurring without apparent external cause.

I don't like spontaneous things happening to me.  I like warning of what's coming.  Sometimes, when something happens spontaneously, it is fun and exciting.  Other times, it's scary and confronting.    Either way, I like to know what's going to happen.   

Many of the things I say to my kids are spontaneous to them but not to me. And I do that because they would get very unsettled if I told them any earlier.  I've learnt the hard way not to tell very young children too soon about upcoming holidays or birthdays or other events.   But at other times, I've needed to prepare them mentally for something so we don't have meltdowns .  

As my girls get older, they're more able to handle spontaneous happenings and so it gets easier.  I guess it's about their level of maturity, their ability to mentally process things quickly, and their security in relationship.  

How do I respond to God's spontaneous prompts or revelations in my life?   

Like a good parent, God knows what I can handle and when and how to prepare me for something that is spontaneous to me.  This week I had an interaction with someone that triggered a spontaneous,  strong reaction in me.  It kinda knocked me sideways for a couple of days.  I sure didn't see it coming.    But the Lord knew and He had already made time and space for me to process what needed to be processed.    

I don't like that kind of spontaneous.  It's confronting, inconvenient and unsettling.  But I'm learning that I can trust Him to not always give me a heads up, because there are some things I would never voluntarily agree to if He did.   There are some things that need to be dealt with spontaneously rather than being worried about for days or weeks ahead of time.  

And I'm learning that He is always present in the spontaneous happenings and always good, even when it's painful and unsettling.  And He brings something good out of it if I'll allow Him to do what He wants to do in it.

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Heb 12:11

So can I have the right attitude when something spontaneous happens in my life, that I don't like?  Can I decide that I don't always need to know what's going to happen?   Can He rely on me to respond with trust when He doesn't warn me about what's coming?   Can I just lean into His goodness and grace when I'm disoriented by something that has caught me completely off guard, even something in my own heart?

I hope so.   

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; 

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.  Ps 131:2

I love this song, Give Me Faith, sung by Chris Brown 

I need You to soften my heart

And break me apart

I need You to open my eyes

To see that You're shaping my life

All I am, I surrender

Give me faith to trust what You say

That You're good and Your love is great

I'm broken inside, I give You my life