Everything matters
by John Fischer

Well I looked over this morning's devotional just now and was relieved. That's because yesterday morning, when I wrote it, I was not on my normal coffee and granola/yogurt bar routine. I was preparing for minor surgery that was to happen at noon, and the requirement was absolutely no food or drink - even water - after midnight the night before. Deprived of caffeine and sugar, I found my eyes closing every few minutes. And the 10-minute “power nap” that I sometimes climb back into bed for after about three hours of early-morning writing turned into 30 minutes. It's a wonder I even made sense. And now I'll have to do it all over again next week.

Halfway to the surgery center I called to let them know I was running late and found out my appointment had been rescheduled. So there I was, depriving myself and rushing off halfway to the surgery center for no reason. Don't you ever wonder why things like this happen? It seems like so much wasted time and effort.

If we're fortunate, we might discover what we thought was wasted time actually put us in a position for something good that wouldn't have happened otherwise. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes these things just happen and we weather them and go on. But is that the best we can expect? I think there may be more.

Just as none of us is an accident, I believe none of the things that happen to us are accidents either. Behind all the causes, effects, and surprises in our lives, God's hand is moving. My history and yours are intertwined with everyone else's in an intricate tapestry of events, none of which are outside God's control. And in this elaborate confluence of things, everything matters. My “wasted” morning may have played into someone else's day in a more significant manner than I can know now or understand.

Perhaps for this reason, we can look back on the events of an otherwise wasted effort and see other things not evident at first glance. In this case, it allowed for my wife and I to stop for coffee on the way back home and have a few moments together. Those moments pointed out some things to me that I needed to act on due to their critical nature. Had I been drugged by anesthesia most of the day and focused on myself, that awareness might have been delayed even further, a delay we cannot afford right now.

What happened yesterday was no accident; what happens today will not be either. We need to pay attention to find out why, because God isn't messing around.

Everything matters; everything counts.
Everything matters; everything counts.
Keep my eyes open.
Keep my hands on the wheel.
Everything matters; everything's real.

- from the song Everything Matters by John Fischer