Have you ever read a passage in the Bible a hundred times and realize you missed half the point? This happened to me, again, this morning.  I’ve read and quoted Philippians 4:11-13 hundreds of times in my life.  Here’s the passage if you’re not immediately familiar with it:

“…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.  In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

I’ve always focused on two things in this passage.  First, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  Second, we should be content when we’re in need—particularly since Paul wrote this passage from prison.

If you are a Major League pitcher, you dream about pitching in the World Series, winning the Cy Young, or pitching a perfect game.  That’s the pinnacle of your career.  That’s your ticket to the history books; perhaps even to the Hall of Fame.

If you follow baseball at all, or if you witnessed Detroit radio host Paul Edwards’ near-heart attack on Twitter on Wednesday night, you now know the names Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga.  Galarraga, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, threw a perfect game this week in front of a home crowd.  The only problem was that Joyce, a 22-year veteran umpire, blew a ninth inning, 2-out call at first base, robbing Galarraga of his place in the history books.

Expect only the unexpected. Now there’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way. When asked as a teenager what my life would look like at age 30, I didn’t hesitate to rattle off my list of expectations. Here is a short list of them at age 17 (It’s okay. You can laugh):

I’d be married to a man who drove a Chevy Z71 (lift preferred) with an excellent career 

and washboard abs.

I’d be a healthy, fit, cool mom of at least 3 kids and 1 pending adoption.

We’d own a modest suburban home with a yard for the kids to play.

Obviously I’d be a homemaker full-time and volunteer part-time.

 

I turn the big 30 this year and the only above expectation I can check off the list is that I am married and it’s only been 3 months. (Well ok, we can check off the washboard abs too). The point is that my life has taken a very different path than once expected. Whose hasn’t?