Pretty random

Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.  Nehemiah 11:1-2

Casting lots? Seems a pretty random way to decide who lives where, doesn’t it? Read the rest of Nehemiah 11 and 12 if you’re interested in exactly who settled where.

Of course, the government should be in Jerusalem. The leaders should all be in one place. They needed an adequate population in the city to restore and maintain it. But no one really wanted to be there. They wanted to settle in the country with their extended families. There were dangers that came with living in Jerusalem. So the idea of casting lots seemed fair – one man in every ten would be chosen. Chosen by God, so the people thought. A divine decision.

Sometimes life throws stuff at us that can seem pretty random, as random as casting lots. Like this sickness bug I have right now that is ruining all my plans and making getting Christmas ready on time even harder, and that has made me take my first day off work for illness since I started.

We never know what life is going to throw at us. An illness, an accident, a tragedy. A surprise, an encounter, a new opportunity. Often there is no reason, no explanation – it really is random.

I was thinking back to Luke’s first Christmas the other day. We’d been involved in a car accident right before Christmas and so decided not to travel to my mum and dad’s for Christmas after all. So we had no food in, nothing prepared, no plans. Not how we envisaged our first child’s first Christmas at all. We all have our disastrous Christmas stories, I’m sure (or is it just me? we’ve had a fair few……and this one isn’t looking so great from where I’m sitting either!).

Christmas is just another day. Anything can happen.

Whatever life throws at us, we can trust that God is there in it with us.

Whatever life throws at us, we can make the best out of what is before us.

Whatever life throws at us, all we can ultimately control is our own reaction.

Whatever life throws at us, we can serve God wherever we find ourselves.

So this is what today’s opportunity looks like for me today…..from my bed (and the toilet!), I will trust and try not to panic. I will rest and try to get better. I’ll come to terms with cancelling having friends round tonight. I’ll spend the day with my poorly children. I’ll deal with my resentment and disappointment…….not glamorous, not what I was hoping for or expecting….but such is the reality of my life today.