My friend spent $150 taking his family to the zoo.

He was convinced that hearing the howler monkeys as they swung from tree to tree, or seeing the huge hippos waddling in the water, or watching the stalking alligators creeping through the grass would make for at least one lifetime memory. So at bedtime he asked his children what their favorite part of the day was. They were unanimous, “It was the pigeons dad, they sat right next to us and we fed them!”

Try as we might, we can’t make memories.

Good ones or bad ones. Despite our best efforts, we just can't change people’s minds.

Of course, that doesn't stop us from trying. In the Christian world we plan on 15-year-olds being able to make lifetime faith commitments and 20-year-olds to say "I do" and have it last forever. This does not mean we are against confirmation or marriage, what it means is that forces far greater than human intention and action are at work.

This Sunday we honor the Trinity, and the many ways God makes God's self known in the world. We will be reminded in our Bible reading from the Gospel of John that the Holy Spirit, the spirit of power, cannot be predicted, leashed, or controlled. Ultimately our commitments to God and to each other are beyond our understanding, but not the Holy Spirit's.

An important thing we can learn here is to rely more deeply on this Spirit. Taking time to listen, discern, and contemplate what we are being told, how we're being led, where the wind of the Spirit is blowing.

What does this look like in our lives? How might we not only listen better, but surrender, realizing that we are at our best when we let go and let God.