Keeping life in perspective
I recently found myself in an odd place.
Alone.
Abandoned, if you will.
I was at church, returning a few items that I had borrowed for an event. That in itself it not so odd.
What was rare is that I found myself in the building completely alone.
It was a holiday, so the staff members that normally would have been there were at home, with their families.
Drawn into the sanctuary, I started singing the words to one of my favorite songs.
"It's just You and me here now. Only You and me here now..."
I wandered in and took a seat on the front pew. Then, I remembered a time when I had been there before.
Alone.
Abandoned, if you will.
It was almost 28 years ago, when this auditorium was still being built. I probably wasn't supposed to be in there at the time, but had sneaked past the "Caution" tape to spend a few minutes alone with God.
I could still smell the drywall paste on the walls that surrounded me. There were no lights inside; the only source of light leaked through the openings that would soon hold the entrance doors, casting larger than life shadows across the stage. The beams above me creaked and groaned, as if warning that I should not have been there. It should have been enough to cause me to flee from the almost finished building.
But fear was the last thing I was feeling.
On that day, I laid on the newly installed pews, some still covered in plastic where they were finishing the final touches. I buried my face in my hands, and cried uncontrollably.
That was the reason I had gone in there.
God and I both knew it.
I splayed before Him my situation; my unanswered questions; my greatest fears.
I confessed my mistakes, asked for forgiveness, and then wondered if there was some way He might still bless my future.
There, in that auditorium, when I had burst past the 'Caution' tape of life, God met me.
And He said "yes."
He promised to walk with me through some of the most trying times of my life.
And those times soon became the most triumphant times of my life.
Because of Him.
Because I sought Him.
Because I met Him there.
Alone. On the front pew.
Abandoned, if you will.
Looking back, I realized that my questions from 28 years ago were answered in ways I didn't even have the strength or faith to dream of back then. My 'ending' much happier than I deserved.
I left there, keenly aware of the gift of perspective. it changed everything, once I focused on all that God has done, rather than on what He is yet to do.
In both instances, almost 28 years apart from each other, I found what I was looking for. I left singing the same song that brought me there.
"It's just You and me here now. Only You and me here now...."
Can you share a time when God intervened and provided a much happier ending than you thought possible?
Alone.
Abandoned, if you will.
I was at church, returning a few items that I had borrowed for an event. That in itself it not so odd.
What was rare is that I found myself in the building completely alone.
It was a holiday, so the staff members that normally would have been there were at home, with their families.
Drawn into the sanctuary, I started singing the words to one of my favorite songs.
"It's just You and me here now. Only You and me here now..."
I wandered in and took a seat on the front pew. Then, I remembered a time when I had been there before.
Alone.
Abandoned, if you will.
It was almost 28 years ago, when this auditorium was still being built. I probably wasn't supposed to be in there at the time, but had sneaked past the "Caution" tape to spend a few minutes alone with God.
I could still smell the drywall paste on the walls that surrounded me. There were no lights inside; the only source of light leaked through the openings that would soon hold the entrance doors, casting larger than life shadows across the stage. The beams above me creaked and groaned, as if warning that I should not have been there. It should have been enough to cause me to flee from the almost finished building.
But fear was the last thing I was feeling.
On that day, I laid on the newly installed pews, some still covered in plastic where they were finishing the final touches. I buried my face in my hands, and cried uncontrollably.
That was the reason I had gone in there.
God and I both knew it.
I splayed before Him my situation; my unanswered questions; my greatest fears.
I confessed my mistakes, asked for forgiveness, and then wondered if there was some way He might still bless my future.
There, in that auditorium, when I had burst past the 'Caution' tape of life, God met me.
And He said "yes."
He promised to walk with me through some of the most trying times of my life.
And those times soon became the most triumphant times of my life.
Because of Him.
Because I sought Him.
Because I met Him there.
Alone. On the front pew.
Abandoned, if you will.
Looking back, I realized that my questions from 28 years ago were answered in ways I didn't even have the strength or faith to dream of back then. My 'ending' much happier than I deserved.
I left there, keenly aware of the gift of perspective. it changed everything, once I focused on all that God has done, rather than on what He is yet to do.
In both instances, almost 28 years apart from each other, I found what I was looking for. I left singing the same song that brought me there.
"It's just You and me here now. Only You and me here now...."
Can you share a time when God intervened and provided a much happier ending than you thought possible?
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