“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!”
Ephesians 2:10 (TPT)
I want you to imagine that you are at a family gathering, sharing your story of a recent experience with your dearest aunt. You spent ten minutes painting out the details; the other people involved, the setting, the build to the climax, and even the climax itself. Near the end, your cousin walks up and listens to the remaining minute of your ten minute story. As soon as you stop talking she sarcastically says, “Great story. I don’t get it.”
You wouldn’t expect her to ‘get it’, would you? She missed so many of the details. She didn’t connect with the characters of your experience. She didn’t hear the details that you intentionally added along the plot line. Of course she wouldn’t ‘get it’!
But in reality, how many of us are the cousin? How many of us get so stuck in focusing on the day that we are living, that we forget to step back and look at the details? We forget that we are in the midst of a bigger story. We forget that it is only one day, or even one week, on our personal journey and that our journey has been written into a much, much larger story. With our nearsighted vision, God probably doesn’t expect us to ‘get it’ either.
I had a hair appointment yesterday and oddly enough my hairdresser, Jody, is one of the most consistent people that I see between adventures. Anytime I am nearby I send her a quick text to see if she can squeeze me into her schedule in the following week or so and somehow, she always manages to do so. Earlier this week I mentioned how my plans can change from one day to the next, so you can imagine the changes that she hears about with many months separating our visits!
As I shared more and more of my update since we had last talked, I realized how much I resemble the cousin at the family gathering.
Over the past few months, I have gotten so immersed in every twist and every turn of life that I have often forgotten to step back and view the map. I have forgotten to consider the road that I have traveled and the journey that lies ahead. I often become so focused on one circumstance or one turn at a time, that I neglect the surrounding circumstances and I begin to overlook the beautiful details that line the winding road.
When I first sat down in the salon chair yesterday Jody said, “So how are you?” I jumped straight into sharing about the circumstances that I had been focused on this week; the things that had stood out to me and that had changed over the past few days. Throughout the appointment, Jody’s followup questions caused me to take one step back at a time. In order to fully understand the first things that I had shared with her, she had to understand what led into those circumstances. She wanted to know the journey. She wanted to know the details of how I got from point A to my current point Z. She didn’t want to be the cousin, catching only the tail-end of my story… she wanted to get it!
As I began retracing my journey one step at a time in reverse, I begin to realize just how nearsighted I had been. I realized how much time I had let pass since I had shared the surrounding details of my journey and as I shared those details I was reminded of just how prevalent God’s hand had been on the road of this adventure. When I was focused in on my day to day and one circumstance at a time, it is not as though I didn’t see God at all. I did see His hand in a detail here or there, and I am sure as I continue to reflect on those days I will see more and more of how He was at work in that time. But as I recounted the details to Jody, I couldn’t not see God and I don’t believe that she could have overlooked Him even if she had tried! The more I backed away from the here and now, the more abundantly I could see the Lord covering each step on the road of my journey. The more aware I became of the blessings that I neither earned nor deserved. The more I appreciated the people placed on my path, the experiences that have shaped me, and the way that one open door led to the next.
It is so easy for us to get stuck in this nearsightedness. It is so easy to see each day on it’s own or each week, or even each circumstance.
Can you relate?
We suffer a loss in the family, lose our job, encounter a marital issue, fail a class, wreck a car and suddenly it seems as if that is the only circumstance on our path. On the flip side we get a promotion, buy a house, announce a pregnancy, or begin a new chapter and we again, focus in on the here and now. There is nothing wrong with grieving in the hard times, nor rejoicing in the good times, but I want to encourage you take a step back!
I want to encourage you to retrace your steps with a focus on the Lord; a focus on the details that He has so perfectly orchestrated along your path. I want to encourage you to step back and remember that today is one day on your personal journey and that your personal journey has been written into a much, much larger picture!
I walked into Jody’s salon to get this mop on my head maintained, but I walked out with a renewed perspective and refreshed Spirit. I walked out reminded of the abundant blessings that the Lord has lavished upon me not just yesterday or today, but with every single step that has been taken. The Creator of the Universe wrote the details of my days long before my feet hit the ground or the day that I took my first steps, and as I was reminded yesterday, there has not been a single step that I have taken alone. Nor has there been a single step taken that hasn’t been orchestrated by the One who can see the big picture; the big picture in which our many journeys run together for our good and His glory.
Let us first be encouraged by Jody. Like her, let’s strive to not be the cousin at the family gathering; not with our family members, friends, or with God. You never know when your desire to ‘get it’ is exactly what will help someone take a step back and gain a greater understanding of their own story!
Let us also be encouraged and refreshed by a greater awareness of the abundant blessings that have been lavished upon us as we take a step back together today.
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.
