Unexpected Grace

My God is a God of surprises. On our drive down to Mississippi, I was certain that I knew what He wanted to teach me through this experience – but in the span of 48 hours He has begun teaching me about something completely different.

We have two jobs here in Biloxi: “mucking” (cleaning out) houses and roofing houses. As we talked with the owner of our first house, we learned that the residents on her street, Magnolia Avenue, called it the “forgotten street”. It was clear that Katrina had caused her to lose most of her joy. In that same hour though, we witnessed sheer elation from a young boy, Gregory, whose family was getting a new roof. The contrast was truly striking.

Later, as we were mucking a house, a girl in my small group named Genevieve came to somewhat of a realization: we weren’t mucking junk; we were throwing this family’s (former) most valued possessions into the street – things that used to have so much meaning. The fact that we were treating these possessions like trash bothered Genevieve so much, but later she realized something that God was trying to reveal to her: these were only possessions – and there is so much more to this life than things.

On the drive home from this first day of work, we saw an incredible sunset. The beauty of this showed me perhaps the most important lesson God has been trying to teach me: He is in control. He is sovereign over this all. He may have given me some surprises, but He is surprised by nothing. He reminded me that Magnolia Avenue is not the forgotten street; instead, it is a place where He is showing Himself more clearly every day.

Jamie Butler
Group Bravo – Team 2