Something Is Happening Here But You Don’t know What It Is…

Bob Dylan songs were part of my formative years. ‘Blowing in the wind’ was one of the first songs I could play on the guitar; I knew all the words to all the verses of ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. ‘Forever Young’ is still one of my all-time favourites…

Yesterday I was reminded of the old Dylan song-line: ‘…something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is. Do you, Mister Jones?’

Sometimes we only see part of a story… The bin had been put out and emptied. Grand-daughter Hannah brought it back in the garden. There was something in the bottom of the bin… a dead guinea-pig was discovered. Something happened… how guinea-pig got there remains a mystery.

Sometimes we stand back, not wanting to be involved… I walked along the sea front this morning; there were four different groups of people assembling to swim in the cold January sea. Something was happening but not for me thank you.

Sometimes we’re in the middle of a story… Neal our minister is leaving our church at the end of February. We don’t know how the future will work out either organisationally ‘what’s-going-to-happen-next?’ or spiritually ‘where’s-our-God-leading-us?’ Something is happening, but we don’t know what…

Sometimes we just don’t understand… George is in hospital. He’s been unwell for some time. Yesterday I heard that he told his family that he’d visited a Chinese restaurant in the hospital basement; there was some tale about visiting an Indian restaurant… Something is happening in George’s mind but I don’t know what it is…

I’m reading of Joseph and his brothers… As the story progresses the final conclusion is unpredictable. I like the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.’ (8:17) Something is happening and I don’t know what it is… In the meantime I will wait; I will trust my God.