Don’t let your imagination be “the end of the road”

Setbacks are merely setups.  Being brushed off is the time to begin brushing up.  God has a plan.  Many have heard this before.  I’m not proclaiming something new or stunning or miraculously marvelous.  But it could be… because only God knows.  Oops, there I go.  I am not here to convince you or make any determination of what you may think or to convince you to believe as I do.  I am here for a purpose.  God’s purpose!  I wouldn’t be here without it.

Many think they know what they want and can get it through a planned process.  There may be techniques to learn, steps to take, criteria to meet and hoops to jump through.  When reaching for each one of these rungs needing to be mastered, people barter for a position to fill and partake with their desires.  If things do not appear as planned, some may pray for God to direct them towards their purpose.

Do you think you know what you need?  I think people know what they want.  I did.  For years I had gotten into trouble often enough to know not to wander into what I didn’t know.  I had many years under my belt helping me realize my life was as good as I could ever imagine it to be.  My imagination was my “end of the road”.

I now consider things differently.  My journey has been filled with unknown experiences I had never imagined.  There were many leaders, teachers and heads-of-households that never would share their life stories in enough depth to allow me to peer into their lives–much less take a peek at where they had been, escaped from or grew out of.  My family system worked the same.  We didn’t talk about the past, except in very unpredictable specific circumstances.  When I think back, I can tell you about the nymph-like part of me as a child that hopped along in my life never aware of the hardships of my lower middle class family.  The same hardships currently exist.  Hardships like making enough money to pay the bills, keeping food on the table, getting the chores done, and making sure everyone in the family gets to where they need to be when they need to be there.  I have stories about getting in trouble with my elders, feeling the anger expressed, but not being able to tell explicitly what I did wrong to elicit such a reaction.  I now hold tightly to that passion I had as a child.  I am grateful that the passion accompanies me on my journey.

Many people talk about reading the Bible, studying scripture and proclaiming a belief in it.  I have discovered many people engage in these intellectual exercises and disciplines, but miss the practical application in their everyday life.  I’ve encountered many believers who are stunted or stuck in their stories of brokenness, unworthiness and their past mistakes, accidents, wrongful decision-making and bad behaviors.  Many people have run themselves aground, therefore their perception of everything that surrounds them is from the bottom looking up.  This makes me wonder about all their intentional time spent reading and connecting with scriptures.  Isn’t one purpose of a belief system to inspire, enlighten, illuminate and encourage when times are difficult and we find ourselves alone?

I found resounding affirmation for that child within me when I was introduced to Christianity.  I grasped the practicality of creation and God’s image made an impression in me.  I associated with how goodness is in our human core and can be seen more easily in children than adults.  Yet, childhood ends and this goodness doesn’t just disappear.  It becomes partially covered and layered with the effects of life as children age into adults.  The significance in individual relationships is the deepest augmentation and influence that allows all our needs to be met.

We cannot always be with people.  As humans grow, we naturally and physically grow apart.  This leaves a gap in relationships.  A gap that no one has the full capability to fill alone.  It is a gap that was divinely designed.  It is a gap that has the capacity to be filled at any time in one’s life.  Many people attempt to fill this gap with many things, but when trying to do so, there still remains a gap.  This gap can only be filled through an individual relationship with God.  This relationship has eternal benefits that never expire or run out.  No time better than now… to seek a design that is steadfast in a plan. 

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”  Theodore Roosevelt