For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

1 Corinthians 5:1

As a result of the tornado that damaged Dallas Lutheran School last month, the contents of my husband’s office are currently stacked in cardboard boxes in my garage. When Todd came home a few weeks ago with these boxes containing over a decade of his professional life and settled them in their new home squeezed in between our lawnmower, bicycles and dusty camping gear, I was disheartened. Amid the chaos and uncertainty in our house at the time, those boxes threatened to be a constant and ever-present reminder in our home that all was not right or as it should be for the Nitz family or for our treasured DL family.

My perspective shifted, however, about 10 minutes after Todd unloaded the last box when on my way to the garage fridge to grab something to defrost for dinner, I was startled by a loud chiming coming from one of the boxes.

Todd’s dad (also a High School principal) had an affinity for clocks and when he passed away several years ago, Todd inherited a chiming clock from him which has hung prominently on his office wall ever since, announcing each quarter hour throughout the day. To be honest, I had forgotten all about it. I’d often visited his office in the last few years and the noise had faded into the background. I didn’t remember that he had the clock at all…until it moved into my garage.

Now, in its new cold and dusty surroundings, I hear that clock loud and clear. It stands out, in part, because it seems so out of place. Whether I am grabbing a drink from the fridge, helping my son with his helmet before a bike ride or climbing into my car, it always catches me by surprise and reminds me of the contents in those boxes. It momentarily draws my attention away from the mundane, reminds me of all that we have to be grateful for in this unplanned season of life and ministry, and helps me to look forward to the future when that clock will be back on Todd’s office wall; even if we don’t yet know how or when that will happen (or where that wall will be!)

That chiming clock in my dirty garage reminds me of what I believe Jesus calls us, his followers, to do…to stand out among the clutter, to draw attention to the beauty of the Kingdom here on earth, and to constantly point toward the yet unseen glory of what is to come.

So how about you? What is catching your attention this week? How is the Lord using it to draw your attention to where he is at work, even if it is in the unexpected? I’m praying you find ways to “chime” into the lives of others this week and point to Jesus!