Weird is the New Normal: Day Seven

Weird is the New Normal:  A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
Merriam Webster
Day Seven – “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?  Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’”  - Abraham (Gen. 17:17)
Well?  It does sound weird, doesn’t it?  Or maybe not… Out of curiosity, I did a little internet research on the oldest man to father a child.  A man from New Delhi, India, became the world’s oldest father. His name is Ramjit Raghav, and he was 96 when his wife gave birth to a son.  He had just had another son with his wife two years earlier, when he was 94.  Ramjit credits his virility to almonds, milk and butter.  Ramjit is quoted as saying, “What can I do?  This is all God’s wish. He wanted me to have another son.” Doctors at the hospital in Haryana laughed when, after the delivery, they found out that Ramjit was the father.  What can you do but laugh?  Reminds me of Abraham…
Ramjit’s wife was not 90, buy the way.  She was in her 50’s.  But still...
In another article in USA Today, I read where a 74-year-old woman from southern India recently gave birth to twin girls.  The woman’s name was Mangayamma Yaramati.  The director of the hospital in the city of Guntur, where the woman gave birth (via C-section), said, “Both mother and infants are healthy and have no complications whatsoever.”  The new mother, Yaramati, said that not having a child was a source of guilt for her.  “People looked at me with accusing eyes as if I had committed a sin,” she said.  Reminds me of Sarah…
And I also think of Rebekah, who prayed for a child, and became the mother of Jacob and Esau; and Hannah, who prayed for a child, and became the mother of Samuel the Prophet; and Elizabeth, who prayed for a child, and became the mother of John the Baptist; and Mary, who was a virgin, but conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, and became the mother of Jesus…
What do all of the situations I just mentioned have in common?  Their circumstances were hilariously impossible.  Have you ever felt that way about your situation?  I have.  I have looked at problems before and thought, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry! There’s no way…NO WAY this is ever going to work out!” And I cried out to God for help. And somehow, someway, God made a way where there seemed to be no way. God seems to specialize in the impossible.
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible.
He does the things others cannot do. (Oscar C. Eliason)

Reflection: What “impossible” situations are you facing?

Action: Read Luke chapter 1, and meditate on Luke 1: 37.