There are many things about my husband
that I love (his love for people, his passion for excellence, his willingness
to work, his goofy/quirky side, and so on) but let me tell you just one little
tiny thing that I am not very fond of. I
am not very fond of the fact that after he has seen a movie he doesn’t want to
watch it again… because he knows how it ends.
Seriously husband? There aren’t
enough movies in the world to watch without repeating at least one!?!!
Now I am of a different breed. I want someone to tell me how the movie ends
so I can then decide if I want to commit myself to watching it. I don’t have commitment issues. I have wasting time issues. I don’t want to waste time with a two or
three hour movie that just leaves me anxiety ridden or depressed. Because at the end of it, all I can think of
is “what was the point of that???!” Thus
the reason I ask about the ending. You
are not spoiling anything for me; you are helping me in my decision
making. And then, once I do know how a
movie ends, I can watch that same movie 10 times… in one day. I went on such a same-movie all day spree in
recent years with Pride and Prejudice, and Sleepless in Seattle. Those movies… those movies have GREAT
endings!
Do you know what makes knowing the end so
great? When you get to a really dark
point in the story that leaves you lost and confused, at the edge of a complete
mascara meltdown, you can take a deep breath and remember the ending- that
everything turns out alright- and you are left with hope. Questions, yes. Tears, maybe.
But above everything, you have hope.
The bad guy is caught, the princess meets
her prince, the guy wakes up from his coma… and they find Nemo.
These are the kind of movies I like to
watch. Happy movies. Filled with twists and turns, heartache and loss
but happy nonetheless. Because if it’s
not happy then what’s the point?
These past two months have been very
movie-like for me. Filled to the brim
with challenges, loss, hurt and pain as if life was waiting for me to stand up
from the last blow to only knock me out again.
One thing after another, blow after blow, trial after trial. And every time I think to myself that I
should just stay down for a while and let myself be swallowed up by the sadness
that lurks around me, and then I remember the verse in Ephesians 6 that says “when
you’ve done all to stand, Stand therefore.” So I pick myself up. Brush myself off. And brace myself for the next big hit.
I am exhausted. Winded.
Saddened. But I am here. And I’m still standing.
I am still standing because I know the
end of the story. And it’s a great
story. I don’t know what the chapters
hold from now until then but I know how it ends and that leaves me with great
hope.
I have faith in God, I have committed my
life to following His lead and because of this I get to remind myself that when
this life ends it’s just the start of a new book. In the next book everything is complete, and
everyone is healthy. There is no
sadness, there is no pain. There is
laughter and peace and an eternity with God in heaven. So when you find yourself in a dark chapter just
skip to the end. No matter what comes,
we win.
These trials become triumphs. These tests become testimonies. God works them all for our good… if we love
and obey Him.
If you are reading this blog and you do
not know God, or are far from Him- know that I am praying for you. Not having this assurance is like watching a
movie and not knowing the ending. It’s
the worst kind of emotional roller coaster that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Put your faith in Christ and know the peace
that comes from living with HOPE.
Psalm
42:5
Why are you cast down, O my
inner self?
And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me?
Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him,
for I shall yet praise Him, my
Help and my God.
(psst. this verse is repeated three times so it must be important! Check out Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 43:5)
