Out of the Blue

by Macy Johnson

“At this, she (Mary) turned around

and saw Jesus standing there,

but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”

(John 20:14 NIV)

 

I recently traded my ten-year-old Toyota for a two-year-old Chevrolet. I enjoyed driving the same model many years ago and am thrilled with my “new” one. It was on our bucket list and the timing was right.

 

The first time it rained while I was driving, the windshield wipers automatically turned on! It’s called Rain Sense – something out of the blue. I thanked God for this cool feature that adjusts the wipers’ speed to the amount of moisture on the windshield. It reminded me of how God appears unexpectedly in my daily walk to remind me that He is always with me to help me through this life in ways that don’t need adjustment.

 

Mary did not recognize Jesus in the garden after His resurrection. I must confess I often don’t recognize Him, either. Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian minister, reminds us, “There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.”

 

My husband and I recently watched a movie about the famous World War I German fighter pilot, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron. Von Richthofen was credited with eighty air combat victories. He astonished his superiors when he requested that his plane be painted red instead of camouflage. He remarked, “I want to scare the enemy, not hide from it.”

 

Sometimes I think Jesus swoops down on me like the Red Baron. Seemingly out of the blue, His Spirit makes an appearance and jolts my senses back into reality.

 

I will put my wits on high alert so I don’t miss an opportunity to watch the Holy Spirit work. I hope you will, too!