Monday, February 17, 2020

What Story Do You Want to Tell Now?

Which Way?

Sometimes, we find ourselves on the wrong side. The wrong side of a sports team that lost the game, the wrong side of a job not suited for us, the wrong side of planning a disastrous vacation, the wrong side of a conversation, and even the wrong side of a travel destination.

“A man ended up on the wrong side of the Arctic after boarding a flight 1,400 miles in the OPPOSITE direction! He had followed the wrong queue on the airport tarmac and didn’t realize his mistake until the plane landed. It’s near impossible to get on the wrong flight with all the security measures that airports put in place – but somehow a Canadian man managed it.” (Rosie Gizauskas, thesun.co.uk)



And how about ending up in a cemetery? My daughter and I were visiting a college in Bangor, Maine. After a nice trip, we had our GPS take us back to the car rental agency. Except … it just didn’t seem like it was taking us the right way. We were in the middle of nowhere and pulled up to a graveyard and the GPS said, ‘You have arrived at your destination.’ We did end up having a pleasant walk around a beautiful cemetery, however.” (Alan Willett, New York, Geico.com)
Story

Rewriting Our Story
We can all surely relate with our own stories. Funny or serious our tales are usually quite embarrassing. Life simply doesn’t allow us, humans, to get by without ending up on the wrong side of whatever now and then. Maybe it was because of a lack of planning. Maybe it was the wrong time, place, or person. It has happened to all of us.

Thankfully, there are second chances. We can usually re-do or un-do our mistakes with a little effort. It may pinch some or hurt for a period of time, but we can and will survive if we are determined to change our outlook and methods. What is amazing is that often when we try, the result is even better than our first attempt.  

“The decisions you make today will determine the stories you tell tomorrow.” (Craig Groeschel, author and pastor of Life Church)

Find the right path
It’s when we resist change and continue with our same thoughts and behavior that it never works out for us and we don’t stop to figure out why. We must realize if what we are doing is not working, then we need to find a different path. And, yes, that is scary because we prefer to stay in our comfort zone—it’s cozy, cushy, and cuddly. And best of all, it doesn’t require anything from us. But staying in that contented environment solves absolutely nothing. We know what a bear looks like after a long winter season of hibernating, right? Podgy, paunchy, and pudgy. Exactly what we don’t care to look like!

Finding Clear Vision
New plans are called for now to avoid living on the wrong side of life. But we are going to need some help and direction. Once we have that, our vision will become clearer. Some people have very supportive family members or friends to call on to brainstorm ideas. (An alternative would be a professional counselor). We can bounce thoughts and viewpoints off them and begin to form perspectives—a better picture in our minds of what a new life can look like. This is exciting!

In the Bible this kind of wisdom is often called discernment and is very valuable to us. We do need to make some plans, but we also must understand that God has a certain purpose for each of us and without asking for His help, our plans will end up on the wrong side of life. So, let’s have a “conference” with Him each morning and brainstorm. He will listen and give excellent directions. The road looks rosy now!

“You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail” (Proverbs 19:21 NLT).

No comments:

Post a Comment