Field of Dreams

I caught the end of Field of Dreams last night. Ray had just gotten into a fight with Shoeless Joe Jackson over not being able to follow James Earl Jones to wherever those baseball ghosts spend their time when they're not playing ball. Ray wanted to go, was upset that after he had done all that work he didn't get to, and was feeling cheated and used. And then, there was that moment when Ray saw the catcher take off his mask, and realized that he was looking at his father. "If you build it, he will come. Go the distance. Ease his pain." Ray said, "It was him." Shoeless Joe Jackson looked back, "No Ray, it was you."

I relish those moments in my life. When watching a movie, I only have to wait two hours. In life, it's usually months, if not years, for such a moment. I so much want to do be part of something important and something mysterious - I want to be part of something that I trust and feel connected to yet do not fully understand. And then, despite the desire to be part of something larger than myself, I want to know someone is looking out for me, and that even as I strive in faith and love, someone is being very intentional about guiding events so that my own pain will be eased. The ballfield was as much an instrument of healing for Ray as it was for any of those athletes. And whatever force in that movie whispered for Ray to build and have faith chose Ray for that purpose. I love two-hour movies. I need to keep faith as I live my life, which oddly doesn't swell into a hopeful ochestra score every two hours. I need to remember that even in the midst of the mundane, there is something important going on here - and the way things work in this world are far more mysterious than I even appreciate. And yes, someone is very aware of my needs and hurts, hopes and fears, and is working things out for my own good, even as He touches so many other people around me. Life is not random; there is a plan, there is a score, and it will all work out "for the good of those who love Him."