ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SOMETHING

There's a wonderful Christian singer and songwriter who's been "reading my mail" for the past few months. No not really, but since my last entry, it has been quite a challenging journey into the unknown and the unknowing. Up till now, I've been sharing the road with God only a mere few paces behind his stride. But when you're broadsided by life, you realize that maybe, just maybe, you're not as in control of the road as you thought you were. So that's why I'm on the other side of something and musing over a Sara Groves' song of the same title.

We all will have our moments in which a dream that has long gone unnoticed becomes awakened in our spirit. We embark on the possibilities of bringing the dream to fruition. But somewhere in the awakening, we find ourselves tossing and turning over introducing it to the masses. For example, who has a "Dream List?" You know, the list of things you dream of doing when you get around to doing them? "Learn to swim," "Take up the piano, the guitar, the trombone," "Learn to drive a 5-speed car," "Visit a foreign country." Your list can go on and on, but even if you've never put pen to paper, like so many others, we have that elusive list written somewhere in the deep recesses of our hearts and minds.

Surprisingly, something seems to occur when you dream. Dreams can turn into nightmares and nightmares are painfully uncomfortable. Think of it like changing the channel on a television. If you don't like the show, it's easier to redirect our attention to other things that may or may not be as uncomfortable to watch. Yet in keeping true to the analogy, if we place our dreams in the hands of God, our Program Director, we just might find that our life as Christ followers was destined to be a "world-class hit!" not a "mid-season disaster."

What am I saying?! Too often we may find ourselves sabotaging our dreams. When we doubt the Creator's ability to turn them into reality, usually it is our fears that change the channel and we end up believing the lies -- "oh, I'm not good enough," or "what do I know" or even "what am I trying to prove anyway?" What a nightmarish predicament, don't you think?

So how can we turn it around? We can trust God's word. Not only is He the "author and finisher of faith" but He is also the "glory and lifter of our heads." And as it states in Roman 8:31, "If God is for us then who can be against us?" Next, realize that as the "Director," God has begun a "good work" in us and that He is faithful to bring it to completion.

Though there's more that can be said, I wanted to give a bit of food for thought as I learn to come "on the other side of something."