Category: growth

Lazy or Crazy?

Posted on by Susan Panzica
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 One of our most enjoyable family experiences has to be riding a Lazy River water ride – floating peacefully in a giant tube, aimlessly drifting yet gently propelled around a vast loop. The slides at the parks are great fun, but the Lazy River is pure bliss. 
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A few years back, we visited the local water park on Long Beach Island, NJ. They had a Lazy River! Oh JOY! My sister-in-law Cathy, daughter Lauren, and I grabbed our tubes and set out for a serene float. Around the park we went, gliding in paradise.
On our second loop, we abruptly found ourselves overturned, terrified, nearly drowned, totally immersed in water, not knowing which way was up. 

What we didn’t know was that this park had a Lazy Crazy River, lazy serenity alternating with crazy confusion. We were dunked by a ginormous bucket that, once filled, tipped over spilling tons of water on unsuspecting floaters. A few minutes later, we were under attack by watershooters above us who found it entertaining to be gunning down perfectly innocent strangers. Around a bend, relative safety was lost completely by exploding underwater mines followed by powerful streams of water spurting out from above, below, left and right.
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Once we recovered, Lauren and I ventured back into the River, this time sharply aware of the potential pitfalls. Cathy though, spent her time safely ashore not interested in risking the turmoil the River.  



Hmmm…. Kinda sounds like life.

I long to float through life peacefully unhindered, don’t you? Then one day, it happens – a diagnosis, a phone call, a pink slip, [insert your tribulation] and our serenity is shattered. We may feel like we’re drowning or under attack. Dangers lurk everywhere, no end in sight, no place to turn.



But we have a choice. We can retreat to the sidelines of life, watching others in the race.


Or we can stay in the fray, hopefully a little wiser, a bit better prepared. And know that with the struggle will come a strength and a joy that we would not have were it not for that very struggle.


Consider it pure joy, my brothers (and sisters!), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Jms. 1:2-4


In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7

Are you in a crazy river right now? How can I pray for you, my friend?

It’s Out Of My Hands And Into Yours

Posted on by Susan Panzica
          11:00 pm-     A huge disappointment
          12:00 am-     “why? really, why?”
           1:06 am –     “It’s out of my hands and into Yours”

It’s out of my hands and into Yours
I’m beaten down and don’t feel secure
The heart of the matter is, it’s broken in two
But I know it’s not me that can make it brand new

Expectations shattered 
My mind is battered
The loss of something
The loss of someone
The loss that I am completely undone

I wanted something I couldn’t have
Then why did I want it, I wanted so bad
I am centered around me and not around You
I know this is wrong and it just won’t do
You’re in my life, all around, everywhere
But I just want to feel you right next to me and stay there

You’re all I need
You’re in between
You’re every good thing in my life
You’re love never fails
Even when others bail
You’re love it compels my life

Why do I want unnecessary things
And focus on the short-lived things?

You’re everlasting
All encompassing
And took on pain that I will never receive
You gave ME new life
And endured the strife
How ungrateful and selfish I have been

It’s out of my hands and into Yours
It’s out of my hands and into Yours

Who ever said Your will means pleasure?
I may have gotten hurt, but now I am stronger
If strength is Your will, then God I’m getting it
I’m letting it
I’m not regretting it

It’s out of my hands, God help me endure
It’s out of my hands and into Yours

          by Lauren Panzica
          Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 1:06am


When we hold tightly to our broken dreams, He can’t mend them. But when we release our disappointments to God, we give Him permission to work in our lives. 

The editor in me spotted two beautiful little typos in Lauren’s poem:
          “You’re love never fails…” 
          “You’re love it compels my life…”  
Technically, she meant to write “Your love…” but I also like it this way, telling God “You Are Love… You never fail… You compel my life.” 
When we fix our gaze on Him, we shift our focus in life from the temporal to the eternal.  It’s a choice, an action, to redirect our attentions and put things in proper perspective.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18  

btw- the Greek word for poem “poema” is translated “masterpiece.” Bravo, Lauren!

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Storm Shelter

Posted on by Susan Panzica
As I sit and write, my sweet pup, Roxie, is sitting at my feet looking up every few minutes to reassure herself that I am, in fact, right where I was those few minutes ago. She has trailed me from room to room, observing my laundry skills, lunch-making prowess and cleanup expertise. Usually, she parks herself anywhere comfy, but today, she is hovering at my feet. If my fingers stop clicking on the keyboard, she looks at me as if to say “where are we going now?”

I was wondering about this intense devotion today when thunder boomed outside. Terrified, Roxie trembled. Aha! Her fear of the storm kept her close to her master.

You know what’s coming next, don’t you!


When confident in her own strength, she’ll rest in any old spot, but when the storm comes, she needs to be in the presence of her master, and so do I. Yes indeed. God uses the storms of life to draw us to Himself, our Master. When circumstances crowd in or fears rise up, we cry to the Lord in struggle. The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Ps. 9:9

And here’s a little secret. Truth be told, I kinda like having her so near and dependent upon me for her strength. I don’t want to sound like I enjoy my pup’s suffering. Not at all. But on most days, she’ll rarely sit still for long. She’ll snuggle for just a minute or two before she’s off again meandering from room to room, from inside to outside and back in again. Yet it’s in the storm that she recognizes her need and seeks solace in my presence, allowing me to comfort her. Too often, I am meandering as well, flitting from one task to another, consumed by my activity and, in my distraction, missing the presence of the Lord.


The Lord doesn’t enjoy our suffering any more than we do, but He does promise that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8). And so perhaps He does enjoy having us so close despite our trembling, renewing our strength in His presence.


I read somewhere that nothing improves your prayer life better than big trouble. There is value in the storm. It builds our faith, and it develops perseverance, maturity and wisdom (James 1:1-5). I only wish I didn’t wait for that big trouble before crying out to the Lord. I wish I was more faithful in the daily little troubles that I tend to tackle in my own strength rather than His. I want to be like a synchronized swimmer, every move I make in perfect harmony with Him.


How about you? Do you allow the storms to build your faith? And what about the peaceful times? Are you able to seek Him in the uneventful moments? He’s waiting for you…

So Lord, where are we going now?

Driven to Distraction

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Early Sunday morning, a few weeks ago, I woke up extra early to prepare for my Sunday School class, only to be distracted by another random task calling my name, leaving my preparation less than best.



Then while in the class, my cell phone signaled a text message arrival. I quickly silenced the alert, only to have it vibrate loudly two minutes later with another text message.


Several minutes later, someone else’s cell phone rang an alert.


A few minutes after that, the children loudly shuffled past our group to practice their special presentation, returning 15 minutes later, sweetly suspending our discussion once again.


The thing is – this type of stuff rarely happens in our class. No cell phones. No parades. No distractions. Each week, we have awesome discussions that experience very few interruptions. Even late arrivals don’t divert us from our study.


Our text that morning was Acts 16, particularly the demon-possessed, fortune-telling servant girl who followed Paul for days shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” This greatly distressed Paul, and he cast out the demon. Since the girl was declaring truth, our group shared thoughts on why Paul would be distressed, concluding that if “he accepted her words, he would appear to be linking the Good News with demon-related activities.” (Life Appl Bible)


And then it occurred to me. While that was most certainly true, it might also be simply that she was a distraction to the work Paul and his companions were doing.


Grrrr! That word – distraction! 


Lately, I’ve been quite onvicted about my own distracted nature. Unlike the focused, goal-oriented people I admire, I am a tumbleweed, often wandering from room to room, task to task. Being very busy, but in reality, accomplishing little.


My dear friend, Joanne at Blessed, shared not one, but two posts a few weeks ago about distraction. When she wrote that her nickname is “bright, shiny thing,” I laughed out loud, knowing that it could easily be mine too! She calls it “the attraction of distraction,” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s a lure, a snare, a decoy. Like a fishing lure, distraction will entice us, then hook us, keeping us from accomplishing anything.

“Hi, my name is Susan, and I’m a distractaholic.”

There I said it. Just as alcohol can derail the one addicted to it, so too, can distraction. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a free spirit. Usually, I love being one. But there are times when I know that God signals a certain task for my day or a call on my life, and I must be honest and admit – I’m being disobedient.

Oswald Chambers said that “Good is the enemy of best.” The soothsaying servant girl shared a truthful statement, but it was a distraction from the men who were on God’s mission of truth. I may be busily serving the Lord, but if I’m not also listening to Him, my work is a distraction from my relationship with Him. Sometimes, a tumbleweed needs an anchor.

I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. 1 Cor. 7:35b

Life Without Limbs – Nick Vujicic

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Nick Vujicic is a truly remarkable man. Born without arms and legs, he is an inspiration both in how he lives his life and how he captivates a huge audience of teens. I have written about him before. When you have a few extra minutes, be sure to watch the amazing videos I’ve linked below. I promise you will not be the same after watching them.
These are some of Nick’s quotes from his talk at Battle Cry in April:

– If you’ve prayed for a miracle and God doesn’t give you the miracle, you be a miracle for someone else.

– D.I.S. = when you “dis” someone, it’s not a good thing.
     D = demon
     I  = inspired
     S = suggestions
     as in: DIScouragement, DISillusionment, DISpair, DISsatisfied…

– Put your faith, not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
     Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
     plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

– If He told you everything, you’d never be in a position to walk by faith.

– When the world says you’re not good enough, get a second opinion.

– When a mum wants her kids for dinner, she calls, “COME!” The kids say, “I’m coming…” Then repeat it over again 2 – 3 times. When God calls you, don’t say “I’m coming…” Say “Here I am!”

– How can you be Jesus’ hands and feet when you don’t have arms or legs?

Nick was so dynamic and powerful a speaker that I completely lost sight of his lack of limbs. Perched on a table, he shuffled back and forth as he spoke. When he was finished, the lights went off the table and on the next speaker. In the dark, he waited, and I watched, wondering how he’d get off that table. While all eyes (except mine) were on the next speaker, a man silently came up to the table, wrapped his arms around Nick’s torso, picked him up and carried him away like a sack of laundry with a head popping out. The humility of his being carried away like that spoke volumes to my breaking heart. This man had wowed the crowd. He was both hysterically funny and dramatically poignant, holding the audience completely enrapt. Yet in his weakness, he needed the help of another just to exit the stage. And it occurred to me that God wants us to be reduced to allow others to meet us in our weakness, and He will carry us. You can subscribe to his newsletter and read about his amazing ministry.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:7

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Here are some of the links to watch Nick yourself:

The Butterfly Circus movie (20 minutes – bring tissues!)
http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/

Nick Vujicic – Greg Laurie Interview (21 minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Cwx2UbTJA

No arms, No legs, No worries (9 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3LFBqvvW-M
Shows Nick swimming, cooking, grooming, daily activities

I Love Living Life. I Am Happy. (7 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZuKF3dxCY
Motivational clip of Nick speaking to youth

Nick Vujicic’ s Official Website
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/
    

Battle Cry – Part 2 – The Word

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Two weeks ago, I shared part 1 of my observations of the Battle Cry teen event. You can read what I shared about the worship experience here. Today, I want to share a few insights I gleaned from the teaching that was offered at Battle Cry.


During the opening message by Ron Luce, “Smitten With Love,” a waterfall thundered on the enormous video screens from floor to towering ceiling. The roaring water continually cascaded, its power inescapable. Encouraged to figuratively stick our toe in and immerse ourselves in the waterfall of His love, I felt drenched from head to toe.


The message that God is “wooing” us was a bit lost on the teens, but went straight to my  woman’s heart. God wants to capture not just our attention, but to capture our heart with complete commitment to Him, no dating others! After courting, sweethearts get married and then they live together, not separately.


And after we say “I do” we are to dwell together, not have divided lives. Newlyweds completely reorient their lives, and as believers, we are to reorient ourselves completely to our Bridegroom. The Lord didn’t send a love note. He sent us Himself.


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Ron’s closing message, “Who You Gonna Listen To,” was one that resonated loudly with both the teens and me. Of the many voices that scream at us, you must choose to listen to love. When you listen to the wrong voices, your identity is stolen. Since this is the very topic of my book, I was hooked, especially by the videos that punctuated his message. One in particular showed a teen getting ready for school. He opened his dresser drawer to pull out some clothes. Then he rummaged in the bottom of the drawer and pulled out a handful of passports, each one with a different identity. One day he went to school as Mr. Smooth, another day it was Nervous Ned or Locker Room Loser or Dark Magic. But the last passport bore the name “Re-bourne Identity” (which happens to be one of my possible book titles!!!), and the audience boomed their applause.
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It was a totally awesome video, but I realized it stopped short of my topic, so I’ll be hunting for some videographers to make a sequel! You see, my book is about the identities that we assume after we are re-born. We are new creations in Christ, but often live defeated lives, not bearing our true identities: We are children of the King, joint heirs with Christ, ambassadors for the kingdom of heaven of which we are citizens. We are soldiers engaged in battle, athletes running a marathon, branches of the life-giving Vine. We are instruments fit for the Master’s use, His workmanship fearfully and wonderfully made, clay in the Potter’s hands. We are a vapor, sheep, salt and light. I could go on, but you get the idea.


The message summation is this – You must choose which voice to listen to. You must choose to listen to love. If you encountered God this weekend, then on Monday, BE the love encounter. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 You don’t need to love many, but love one and make a difference.


Stay tuned tomorrow. I have a few more morsels to share from Nick Vujicic. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!


And if you haven’t yet left a comment regarding my book giveaway from last week, please be sure to so I know if you’re interested in the drawing. It’s an awesome book about “finding our true image in the mirror of God.” Contest ends Wednesday.

More Snow, More Lessons

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Sometimes on a journey, snow causes you to take a detour. So with this week’s massive storm, I’m turning aside from the Journey posts to share another snow day lesson.

Today’s post is just stating the obvious –
there are lessons to be learned in the storm, any storm.

God never wastes a hurt, a problem, a sorrow when yielded to Him. In every storm, there’s something to be learned, an attribute to be developed, an insight to be gleaned. And once again, today’s snowstorm provided more blog fodder.

I keep hearing the refrain, “This winter just won’t end. I’m ready for spring already.” Well, that makes for pleasant small talk. We can all commiserate, but the truth is that winter will end. It always does. Even if you live in Alaska or Antarctica, there are seasons. Winter will become less fierce in those regions. For us, don’t expect winter to end yet. It ends in March, not February, but it will end. In the summer, we’ll be saying, “This summer is so hot, it just won’t end.” But it will end. It always does.

Life has its seasons, too. When my son came back from one of his mission trips, he desperately wanted that spirit-filled mountaintop feeling to continue forever, but with each passing day, he slowly settled into the “ordinaries.” I shared with him that if all our time were spent on the mountaintop, it too would be come ordinary, not a unique sacred time. Also, if all our time was on the mountaintop, we’d be useless to those who need us in the valley. We’d miss the lessons that He teaches us in the deep, dark seasons of our souls. Jesus can calm the storm. If He lets the storm rage, He will calm the child.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was eager to set up tents to remain there on the mountain. But the gospel writers all say that Peter didn’t know what he was talking about (Mt. 17, Mk. 9, Lk. 9). Jesus didn’t spend all His time on the mountaintop, but He did make it a point to have some time there. A season, if you will.

Years ago, when my husband and I honeymooned in Hawaii, we met a guy who told us that he had to fly to California once a month to get away from the sameness. Paradise – sameness? Are you kidding? But he wasn’t kidding.

Here in NJ, I do feel blessed to experience the variety of seasons.

And may it help me to remember that spiritually, there are seasons, too. The chill of winter will end – it always does. The scorch of summer will end – it always does.

And until it does, let’s appreciate that there are lessons to be learned in the season that will make the next season easier to endure.

Some seasonal encouragement:

Be prepared in season and out of season… 2 Tim. 4:2


She is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Psalm 1:3

Have you experienced a storm that yielded a lesson learned?

Susan

The Journey – part 1

Posted on by Susan Panzica
I was privileged to spend Saturday with the beautiful women from Harvest Christian Fellowship NYC on their annual women’s retreat. The speaker was Jan Vance, a women’s ministry leader from Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, CA. It was a dynamic time of fellowship with the women and with the Lord. Over the next few posts, I’ll be sharing with you some of what I gleaned during the day.
At lunchtime, my tablemates and I had a deep discussion about how God required complete destruction of people, animals, even earth, in the days of Noah, Lot, Joshua and Saul. Later during Jan’s evening message, she mentioned this very thing. Ouch! My heart pierced, the Spirit’s arrow embedded firmly in my right ventricle. I knew there was a message for me here.

God’s instruction to Moses in Deut. 7:16 was “You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.” Aha, the snare! God required the complete destruction of those who would set a fatal trap for His people.

God took care of the destruction for Noah and Lot. Joshua obediently took care of the destruction himself. But Saul, oh Saul, was only partially obedient. And, as Jan said, “partial obedience is disobedience.”

Although Saul was instructed to “go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.” (1 Sam 15:3), he decided against it, keeping King Agag alive as prisoner and keeping the best quality livestock. When confronted by the prophet Samuel, Saul whined, “But I did obey the Lord (v. 20) to which Samuel replied,

“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.” ( Sam. 15:22-23)

Listen! (When God says “Listen”, you better!)
-Obedience is better than sacrifice.
-Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft.
-Stubborness is as bad as worshipping idols.

Samuel eventually killed the king, but the damage was done. The Amalekites remained a snare to the Israelites for generations to come.

I often said to my children when they were younger, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” And now, God was saying it to me. He’s asking me to completely destroy that which will ensnare me – attitudes, time-wasters, behaviors. Things that I haven’t gone to bed with, but have been slow-dancing with.

How about you? Has God been asking you to destroy completely a potential snare? To take care of it now before it develops roots and is harder to deal with later? Delayed or partial obedience is disobedience. 

Susan

 

Lurkers and Influencers

Posted on by Susan Panzica

I know that majority of you reading this post are subscribers who read Eternity Cafe in your email inbox. You’ve never seen a blog other than the time you went to mine to subscribe and haven’t been back to one since. I know – I was exactly the same before I started writing it.

So my blogger friends, please be patient with me for a moment while I provide definitions for two words you and I have come to know.

Lurker –
Webster’s defines a lurker as:
1 : to lie in wait in a place of concealment …
2 : to be concealed but capable of being discovered; to lie hidden

Bloggers define a lurker as someone who reads your blogpost, visits your blog, maybe smiles or sheds a tear, and then moves on without ever leaving a comment or reply. On rare occasion, a lurker may tell you in person how much your blogpost meant to them. But never leaves a written comment.

Do bloggers like lurkers? Of course! We love ALL our readers, and to be honest, I’m a reformed lurker myself. Would I like more comments? Vell, of course, dahling, who vouldn’t?
But that’s not really what this post is about as you’ll see.

Influencer –
Webster’s defines an influencer as
1 : One who, or that which, influences.
    Influence: Verb
1 : Have and exert influence or effect;
2 : Shape or influence; give direction to;
3 : Induce into action

Most bloggers are writers (duh!), and in publishing, an influencer simply is one who tells others about a book. An author will often provide tips to be an influencer for his/her book, like writing a post or newspaper article, twitter or facebook, contacting local bookstore, etc. In fact, I’ll be posting a review next week for one author who asked me (and hundreds of others) to be an influencer for her book. Her book is something I believe will be valuable to many so why wouldn’t I want to use my little corner of the internet to share it with others? And someday, maybe you will be an influencer for my book (if it ever gets finished!)
But again that’s not what this post is about.

So get to the point already! You may be lurking but I can hear you!
Okay, here’s what I’m getting to.

In God’s kingdom, there are lurkers and influencers, too.

Lurkers may go to church, listen to Christian radio, participate in fellowship, but rarely share the gospel with someone. They drink in, but seldom give out. They receive a word from God, but don’t encourage anyone else. They may even keep their faith completely concealed from the outside world.

Influencers are like Andrew who upon meeting Jesus immediately fetched his brother, Peter, to meet Jesus too. Or like the woman at the well who after speaking with Jesus ran to the town to tell everyone about the Man who knew all about her. They’re like the band members I met in a bar 30 years ago who had met Jesus the month before and were so excited to communicate their great news. Christ’s influencers know they have something valuable that will be more valuable the more it’s shared. And they look for opportunities to influence others to join God’s family or to grow in His family.

It’s true that some people are natural born influencers, and some natural born lurkers. But with the desire to become an influencer for Christ, comes the ability.

If you knew that a bomb was on an airplane, would you warn the passengers lining up to board the plane? That’s the attitude to have to be an influencer.

But being an influencer doesn’t always require speaking. An old adage says “Preach the gospel at all times, and sometimes use words.” It is our daily lives, decisions, behavior that is the biggest influence to those around us.

But if you’re anything like me, there are times that you wanted to speak, to encourage, to share, to influence, and you kept silent. Would you allow me to influence you now 🙂
Here’s what I did:

Step out with baby steps.

A comment here.
An “I’ll pray for you” there.
Seize a moment.
Then build from there.

They share freely and give generously to those in need.Their good deeds will be remembered forever.They will have influence and honor. Psalm 112:9

Susan

ps – and just in case you thought I was kidding with the blogger lurker definition, when I went to the dictionary I found it it’s for real. Here it is, from Websters, lurker definition #3:
3 :to read messages on an Internet discussion forum (as a newsgroup or chat room) without contributing

pps – and if you’ve been lurking around Eternity Cafe, I’d much prefer this blog to be a dialog than a monologue. I’d love to hear/read your comments – and respond to them. So please pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s chat! And feel free to influence your friends to join in!












No Regrets

Posted on by Susan Panzica

Today’s post is stolen from “Stuff Christians Like” by Jon Acuff. Jon writes hysterical Christian satire. Except on Wednesdays which is reserved for more serious issues.  Last Wednesday, he wrote the following story about a conversation with his coworker, Brian. At the end, I’ll add my two cents. To read his post in its entirety, click here.
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REGRET:
While at the gym the day before, Brian had seen a man have a heart attack on one of the machines. A crowd quickly formed, but confusion reigned. The gym employees were slow to act and 911 was not called immediately. Brian prayed with a handful of other people and comforted the man the best he knew how, but by the time the ambulance showed up, it was too late. With his wife standing in the crowd of exercisers, a stranger at the gym passed away.


So on an otherwise uneventful morning in an otherwise ordinary conference room, Brian was replaying the whole situation. With the laser focus we all seem to inherit when feeling guilty, he was watching the film of the day before looking for something he could have done differently. There must have been something. Anything that would have saved that man.

That’s a horrible moment that maybe you’re familiar with too. Perhaps the circumstances were different, but somewhere in your life, there’s been a moment you wish happened differently. You lost your job. You lost your marriage. You were too slow to act in a car crash. Your son, the one who used to laugh so hard when you’d build towers of wooden blocks for him to knock over is running away from you and you’re left wondering what you could have done differently.


I don’t know. I don’t know the specifics of your situation. There are some circumstances where we are called to act and have the chance to do something and we don’t. But I think far more often we make the same mistake Brian made. We look back on yesterday or last year or ten years ago and we think we could have done something differently. And if I could tell you the same thing I told Brian, it would be pretty simple.


“God didn’t ask you to be God that day.”


God didn’t turn the reins over to you that day. Just like he didn’t ask Brian to handle a stranger’s aorta tear in the gym, he didn’t ask you to be the God of any particular situation. He is still God. He is still in control. He is still on the throne. And when we act otherwise, it must pain him so.


Because it hurt me to watch Brian that day. It hurt to see him running through scenarios and CPR techniques and a thousand other “what ifs” that morning in the conference room. He had a limitless supply of things that a good person should have done.

Maybe you do too. About your marriage and your job and your childhood and your family. And while I’d never encourage you to shirk the responsibility and accountability God gives each of us, I can promise you one thing, he didn’t ask you to be God that day. He’ll never do that. You get to just be Brian. Or Pam or Sue or Felix. That’s enough. That’s how he planned it. For yesterday and today and tomorrow.

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Too often, I pull out thethe “if only’s,” the coulda, shoulda, woulda” wistful thinking, and then my mind parks there filled with regrets or frustrations.


Jon’s statement “God didn’t ask you to be God that day” is what really pierced me. Maybe you too. Why is it so hard to relinquish control sometimes? Why is feeling helpless so difficult?

 
Jon titled his post “Regret”, but I titled mine “No Regrets.” On one of my son’s mission trips a few years ago, he chose a personal theme for training camp and the trip = “No Regrets.” AJ didn’t want to look back on the trip [or on his life] and have regrets. He purposed to make choices, to go places, to say and do things that would leave him satisfied, fulfilled, with no regrets. Hearing his wisdom, I purposed to learn something from my young son.

For those things that are in our control, let’s take the action, say what should be said, avoid what we know to avoid, so we won’t have regrets.
And for those things that are out of our control, let’s let God be God and rest in His divine wisdom.

What do you think?

Susan