I had one of those moments. One of those mornings when the sun streamed in the picture windows, bringing light and life to everything; one of those times when laughter bubbled out for no apparent reason. A moment of sheer joy. And that, in the midst of the simplest tasks of life.
Speaking at various engagements in the past, I’ve always said that the best place to be is wherever God wants you, whether flying fighter jets over bad-guy-land or doing laundry for the family. And today God affirmed that for me through experience.
It was a simple moment. I was taking care of myriad details for our first race of the season this Saturday. The kitchen and dining room were strewn with stuff. The list of tasks yet to accomplish stretched before me. And my flying students were all taking breaks, so I hadn’t worked for monetary pay is weeks. But in that moment, God paid me in joy. I suddenly realized that this was what I was made for. It was a moment of wonderful homecoming – to a place I’d never been before. Nor was it a place. It was a state of mind; a state of attitude; a state of heart.
C.S. Lewis draws the image of people contentedly going about their day while God delights in them. God takes pleasure in their simple happiness – in their lack of striving or stressing or worrying – as they go about being humans as He made humans to be. Lewis’ demons, however, scuff their feet in the dust and complain, “Everything must be twisted before it’s of use to us.” How convincingly they have twisted things, so that it’s taken me all my life to see: home is not some faraway place, and God’s will not some big mystery. But rather, they are one and the same. Home is where the heart is, when the heart is home with Him. Then joy spills out like sunshine, and the most mundane chore becomes sign language for praise.
God is good.
