Whenever I have heard people talk about the "Law of unintended consequences", I've always interpreted it as a negative thing. You say something out loud, not knowing that the person you were speaking about was right behind you. Their feelings are hurt, and they never speak to you again. Sometimes, we are just not able to see the possible outcomes of the things we do.
However, I've already spotted a trend in our mission work that leads me to believe that there is a positive flip side to this concept. And for God, it's not the law of unintended consequences, it's called his master plan, and we just can't see it.
Last year, we encountered a group of local contractors who assisted us on the housing restoration project. They were all greatful that we were there, but there was one person who was clearly most struck by our service, and truly amazed that we would give up our vacation time to come down to West Virginia to help people we don't even know. I remember his name as Tyler. It could have been something else, but I for sure won't forget the look in his eyes as he watched a high school kid, an 87 year old dynamo of a woman, and the rest of our amazing team dive into a nasty cleanup job with total zeal. We could have never imagined encountering Tyler when we started on our Mission Trip. But, I like to think that in some small way, we changed his outlook on life. I like to think that God sent us down there, with some hidden intent that we could never have possibly anticipated to help that young man turn a corner in his life.
I believe that we have encountered the same thing again, here in Pipestem. The Appalachian South Folklife Center hired a new Director this year. Her name is Laura. She has only been on the job since February, and is working really hard to establish herself and build her credibility. As an outsider coming into a world that is somewhat insular, this is no easy task.
And then - in comes the First Church Mission Crew. Pastor John, Chris and Allyson started the chain reaction by showing Laura all of the incredible gifts that our congregation generously donated. I wasn't there to see it, but John described it as a look of "awe" on her face, especially when he handed her a check for $1,000 plus all of the Lowes gift cards. It was as if a gift from God just floated down from heaven and landed in her lap. Then today, we all jumped right in to help apply wood preservative stain to a much beloved building here on the property, followed by a crazy job to remove rocks from under a deck so no Copperhead snakes would congregate in that area and threaten the children that visit the center. Again, we never anticipated this confluence of events and how they would impact Laura, but after one single day, you can already see the level of hope and optimism in her eyes lighting up.
We call it the law of unintended consequences.....
But for God, it's the law of intended consequences, and we are fulfilling his plan through our mission work. How blessed are we?
However, I've already spotted a trend in our mission work that leads me to believe that there is a positive flip side to this concept. And for God, it's not the law of unintended consequences, it's called his master plan, and we just can't see it.
Last year, we encountered a group of local contractors who assisted us on the housing restoration project. They were all greatful that we were there, but there was one person who was clearly most struck by our service, and truly amazed that we would give up our vacation time to come down to West Virginia to help people we don't even know. I remember his name as Tyler. It could have been something else, but I for sure won't forget the look in his eyes as he watched a high school kid, an 87 year old dynamo of a woman, and the rest of our amazing team dive into a nasty cleanup job with total zeal. We could have never imagined encountering Tyler when we started on our Mission Trip. But, I like to think that in some small way, we changed his outlook on life. I like to think that God sent us down there, with some hidden intent that we could never have possibly anticipated to help that young man turn a corner in his life.
I believe that we have encountered the same thing again, here in Pipestem. The Appalachian South Folklife Center hired a new Director this year. Her name is Laura. She has only been on the job since February, and is working really hard to establish herself and build her credibility. As an outsider coming into a world that is somewhat insular, this is no easy task.
And then - in comes the First Church Mission Crew. Pastor John, Chris and Allyson started the chain reaction by showing Laura all of the incredible gifts that our congregation generously donated. I wasn't there to see it, but John described it as a look of "awe" on her face, especially when he handed her a check for $1,000 plus all of the Lowes gift cards. It was as if a gift from God just floated down from heaven and landed in her lap. Then today, we all jumped right in to help apply wood preservative stain to a much beloved building here on the property, followed by a crazy job to remove rocks from under a deck so no Copperhead snakes would congregate in that area and threaten the children that visit the center. Again, we never anticipated this confluence of events and how they would impact Laura, but after one single day, you can already see the level of hope and optimism in her eyes lighting up.
We call it the law of unintended consequences.....
But for God, it's the law of intended consequences, and we are fulfilling his plan through our mission work. How blessed are we?
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