I emailed this to some friends New Year's morning and was asked to post it on my blog.
My first thoughts as I woke up this morning were, "So many lives, so many needs ... what a HUGE God we serve!" I have a relationship with each of you, all of them different than any of the others. I appreciate that about you ... you are your own unique person with your own quirks and talents and faults that make you the incredible individual you are. What I like best about the quagmire that make up our beings is that we have lived enough life to laugh at the best parts of us and have learned to accept the worst, knowing that God is BIG ENOUGH to change what needs changing in us if we allow Him the time and methods HE chooses to do so.
Every one of you mean something to me in a very deep way. I won't pretend to know what God has in store for each of us this year, but I do know WE have a big say in it. Abel learned that lesson last night. All week long he was bellyaching and complaining about "how STUPID it is that people want to celebrate New Year's. It's just another day. It's no different than any other day. It's STUPID!" Soooooo, Kenny and I canceled our plans to go to the Pelican Drop (they drop a lit-up plastic pelican instead of a ball) in downtown Pensacola and stayed home. We had no desire to listen to a disgruntled teenager whine and complain the entire night, acting like he's too cool to be impressed by anything and too intelligent to enjoy what all the idiots at the celebration are enjoying (poor things, they are too stupid to know they shouldn't be happy to see another year of life and all the possibilities it brings). When the clock hit midnight and Kenny and I wished each other a Happy New Year, Abel handed me a piece of paper on which he had written, "Oh wow. What a great way to celebrate the New Year. We did nothing." To which I replied, "You have reaped what you have sown. You didn't get the blessings we had planned for tonight because of your whining and complaining all week about how stupid it is to celebrate. You got what you wanted, and you're still not happy."
Abel is a miserable person right now. He's not happy with the way life is because it hasn't measured up to what he thinks it should be. He's negative about EVERYTHING and it is a constant drain on the rest of us, which makes it difficult for us to WANT to be around him. He is expecting someone or some thing to suddenly change everything for him, but what he's giving out he is getting back. WE aren't doing that, it is a Law of the Universe that God Himself set in motion before the beginning of time as we know it began. I sat Abel down and told him that HE is the only one who can change his mind and attitude. What he speaks and believes is going to come to pass, whether to the good or the bad. Hopefully, he will see the wisdom in choosing the good and actually ask God to help him see it.
I don't want "life as usual" this year. I have spent the past few months sending out my resume' to countless employers, but have heard nothing back. That gets discouraging. Knowing I am a good employee and hard worker, knowing I can bring benefits above and beyond my skills to any office, it is hard not to hear ANYTHING. We could whine and complain about the lack of money, Kenny's prostate cancer, Abel's tidal waves of negativity, the pain I live with every day due to two car accidents that weren't my fault ... the list could go on ad nauseum. But why? Why complain? Every negative word out of my mouth turns my boat around and heads me back into the Sea of Turmoil. God wants my boat headed to the shore, where He stands waiting to receive me and bless me with every good thing He greatly desires to give. Every one of the circumstances with which we are dealing could change in an instant, and they WILL, at God's appointed time for each one of them. We would better spend our time while we wait focusing on God's heart and getting to know Him more intimately. We can reach the shore and His open arms much sooner if we stop turning the boat around with our words and attitudes. This is not just a lesson for a disgruntled teenager, but for all of us who are "spiritual beings having a human experience" while we are here on earth.
So, my dear friends, may THIS year BE WHAT YOU MAKE IT. Kenny has taught me many things since we've been married, and one of them is that God gave us a brain and expects us to use it. I was one who wouldn't do anything unless God specifically told me to do it because I was deathly afraid of making the wrong decision. What Kenny has learned from me is that you don't do whatever you want and ask God to bless it. There's a balance. God is not a consultant or a contract worker. He's GOD. There's a reason He gives us wisdom and principles in His word ... they are the basis and foundation for making wise decisions. If we make plans and decisions based on scriptural wisdom, they will have the blessing of God. If we do whatever we want with the "Oh, by the way, God, please bless this" attitude ... well, good luck with that.
Many of us are undertaking new paths at the moment. We each have our own set of circumstances with which we're dealing, fraught with their own pitfalls. The good news is, we can navigate our individual roads by KNOWING the map we've been given in the Bible. Know God's principles, but most importantly, know God. Make your plans according to His principles. Can't find your SPECIFIC situation in scripture? Then use the wisdom written in Ephesians to make your plans ... we are told to "let peace be your umpire." If you want to do something (sell or buy a house, change jobs, move to a new area, etc.) but there is no specific "do or don't" in scripture, then give it the umpire test. Do you feel a red flag in your spirit about your plan? You know that feeling ... that twinge of deep doubt that says, "I really don't know about this." THAT red flag. If you don't feel anything - or a deep peace - then continue with your plans, making sure to stay in constant communication with God. He WILL guide us! He PROMISES that!
Sooooo, KNOW GOD and MAKE PLANS! I pray for each and every one of you to be filled with His joy this year, starting TODAY. :-D
