Our Life Stories

Sometimes I get overwhelmed observing the world.
Simply looking out the window of my favorite local Pasadena coffee shop and watching the various people walk by.
Thinking about their stories.
Why are they here in California, why Pasadena, why on Colorado Blvd.?
Do they live here or are they just visiting?
Are they having a good day or walking around seeking some form of hope and encouragement?
It is so amazing how God interweaves all of humanities life stories together.
HOW BIG IS GOD?
To be able to be to intricately involved in my life and directing me where I should go - yet he does the very same thing for that man standing on the corner of the street with his hands in his pocket, looking confused, sitting through the changing light now for the second time...
When I think about the people he has brought into my life and the part they play in speaking wisdom into my life and developing me into the person I am continuing to become. Their personal life story in how they came here is so interesting - seeing how God has made them into the person they are for the stage of life they are in at this very moment.
I think that is why it is so hard for me to believe a concept like open theism. Believing that the future is open and God does not really know what is going to happen is not something I can jump on board with. Sure - he is all wise and can make that "educated guess" (and we all know he will be right) but because of our free will he does not know. There is just something about that that does not settle right with me.
The way our bodies work, the stories our lives create, and the ways our paths intertwine convince me I serve a God who is intimately involved in my life and he knows what the next chapter holds - he even knows how the book ends.