Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It's About Time

       "Midnight in Paris" was a time-travelling film about a young man who is truly dissatisfied with his life. He has a critical, unfaithful fiance, a meaningless job, and snobby soon-to-be in-laws. He longs to live in the 1920s in Paris, which is a time & place brimming with writers, musicians, and artists. As he walks the Paris streets on vacation, he is pondering life when a '20s era car picks him up and he is magically transported to his dream era. As he hobnobs with his literary and artistic heroes, he finds the girl of his dreams and believes he has found his paradise...that is until he realizes that although that period was his golden age, the ones who actually lived in it are all unhappy and wishing they lived in a different era as well. He finally realizes the truth that the whole point in living is to make the most of the time you live in and be grateful for who you are!
       I enjoyed the movie and started reflecting on my own life and the people that I know. I always assumed that I would end up living basically the lifestyle I grew up in - the 50s. I thought I might work a few years until I had kids, then stay at home to raise them and be the perfect wife & mom while my husband went off to work. We would live in suburbia, have a dog and a car or two, go to church, and be happy. That was my childhood, (minus the dog) so why would my adulthood be any different?  My girlfriend and I even have matching pictures of the white picket fence with its red roses growing on and through it.
       Well, Proverbs 16:9 says man makes his plans but God directs his steps and makes them sure. He must have smiled at my innocence because my life has been nothing like my expectations. I've lived a roller coaster life of love, heartache, tears of laughter and sobs of sorrow. I have walked with both parents through their deaths and have witnessed the joy of new life.  I have mentored young girls who were thrown away by their families, and have had the opportunity to glean from some of the most amazing spiritual women of their generation. I have seen God do miracles of healing, provision, and orchestration of circumstance. I have watched Him come through time after time in the midnight hour, and been blessed by witnessing His loving care through some incredibly difficult days. I have been allowed to use His gifts in me to edify, comfort, teach, train, and support. Instead of going to the fountain each week to refuel my spiritual life, I have learned to refill my Spirit through my personal walk and then Be the fountain. And I wouldn't trade my life or experiences for any other time, place, or circumstance.
      The Bible says in Galatians 4:4 that "In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son"..." He came into the world at the perfect time and in the perfect place to do exactly what He was meant to do. In the Old Testament, when Esther was questioning her circumstances, she was told "And who knows if God has not chosen you for just such a time & occasion as this" (Esther 4:14) and I believe that is true of all of us as well.  Each of us has been given that same blessing - we have been put into the time, place, and situation that God has chosen so that we might live for Him and do His will.We have been created as we are, with our gifts and abilities for such a time as this.(Eph. 2:10)  There is no better time or different place that we could be - so don't waste days in wishing, day dreaming, mumbling or grumbling. Treat each day as a gift and fulfill the mission God has given you "for just such a time as this." You only get one life, so use it well.
     

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