Matthew and I just returned from what has become our annual trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico. That sounds pretty awesome, right? Well it is. I am a blessed woman. We go to refresh, renew, and Re-LAX. It takes a day or so for each of us to unplug and fully be able to take a breath. Life is busy, and while I know we are no busier than most people… it just FEELS like we are.

This year, we met a very interesting fellow. I will call him John. John is from Europe. It’s the place where everyone seems to say “bloody hell” a lot. John said it a lot. He is very direct, and he talks entirely too fast for my southern American liking, but Matthew and I enjoyed talking to him. We listened fast.

Inevitably, John asked us what we do. It’s an identity thing. It’s a connection thing. For me, it’s easy. I just say I am a nurse. Bam. People get that. They assume I take care of sick people. I don’t take care of sick people anymore, but if the relationship continues, I get in to all that later. But for Matthew, it gets a little sticky for him.

He doesn’t like to tell people what he does. So he hems and haws and then people begin to think he’s a drug dealer or something else he can’t really talk about in polite company. It’s not that. Matthew has worked in Christian ministry his whole life. Most of the time when he tells people that, they change. They drag out whatever Christianese they happen to know, and it gets weird really quickly.

As predicted, John asked us what we do. I pipe up that I am a nurse, get the usual “that’s a very noble profession” response, and I nod my head as if to say, “Yes. Yes it is.” Matthew does his hemming and hawing thing. At that point I just sit back to see how he is going to frame his occupation this time… He says he is a teacher. And he is. But he is also an Academic Dean in a ministry college seeking accreditation and he holds a doctoral degree and two master’s degrees (and he is working on a third. Such a show off).

Usually it ends there. But this time it didn’t. Eventually, John learned what Matthew’s role is and that we are both Christians. John is decidedly not a believer, and at that point was likely counting how many times he had dropped the F bomb thus far. See? Weird. This was going to get interesting.

As it turned out, John had some legit questions about faith as it relates to marriage and God. Mind you, they were the same old questions most people have. John has a long time girlfriend he has no intention of marrying. His parents are in a four decade marriage and they are miserable. Yet John sees us at thirty years and happy and that confuses him. So we (I) launch into the difference between a marriage contract and a covenant marriage. That was fun.

Then he wonders who made God. This is where Matthew jumped in and talked about how John’s perspective is off. He is concerned about how things got started. Perhaps a better focus would be on how things are going to end. I know. Matthew is good.

We enjoyed our time talking to John. I do believe in divine appointments, so I think the Lord is ready to move in his life. I hope we were able to plant some seeds for the next appointment to water.

I wonder about folks who think a belief in God is silly. Many sociologists believe that as a society evolves and it fills in many of the blanks through scientific discovery, it ceases to have the need for religion to explain the unexplainable. We evolve to a higher existence and become self-actualized.

Pish posh.

God gave us so much information in His word, but He also made us curious. He left truths, His truths, for our discovery all around us. You see, all truth is God’s truth, wherever it is found. The more we learn about ourselves and this universe, the more we realize what an awesome God He is, and the more we need Him in our lives.