Remember that song by Rascal Flatts?
Here's the link, in case you forgot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MTSBcvI9DI
Not much relevance to my life now, but ah, back in the day...this was my jam!
Ha, not sure why, except I LoVeD Rascal Flatts.
"I wake up and tear drops they fall down like rain. I put on that old song, we danced to and then..."
Wow. Those lyrics are actually a lot worse than I remember. In a sense, they make me very grateful for where I am today!
Not looking back on my past and wishing to be there, but trying to engage with my future and understand where I am and where I'm going.
When we look back and think about where we could be and still believe that make-believe path would provide happiness, we are actually constructing our own demise. This demise may look like tear drops in the morning, failure to explore new opportunities, sadness with our environment, bitterness at any attempts of others to cheer us up, or just an all-around depression with our daily lives. We could live there. We could willingly choose to forsake all invasions of sunshine, but what person wants to live that way? There is no glamour in losing out days or even years to remorse and longing. There is no magical spell that will transcend a broken heart and relieve the grief. These are the efforts of hard-work, deliberation, soul-seeking, and humility.
We could live our lives for tomorrow. Always thinking about another day, but what happens to the present? Are you no longer experiencing it fully? Do you no longer look around and appreciate the beautiful shape of the clouds or the light in the sunset? Do you stop enjoying the embrace of the infant in your arms or the spouse laying by your side? Yes, it contradicts our culture to say you can find happiness without changing status or adding just one more thing. It contradicts our culture because the happiest people in the world aren't rich, they aren't on wall-street, and they aren't chasing dreams of fast cars and big houses. They are looking around themselves, going, "Ah, so this is what pretty good means."
*With God all things are possible.
*The joy of the Lord is my strength.
*I will live to enjoy the light.
I hope all of us can live to enjoy these days, no mater the path we've been on before today. The way is not always easy and it surely isn't clear. But, we have something worth living for and that is pure joy. If you want happiness, you may have it. The Bible tells us to seek and you will find, to ask and it will be given. This isn't the request of a magic genie, but a simple plead to know yourself. What are you really looking for? A car that will eventual break and debt to hang above your ears for the rest of your life? Or a moment of happiness that tells you that all of the longing, all of the pain, all of the crap you've experienced, those are the things you don't need.
So, you want to escape? Okay, go ahead. Get on your knees and pray. Pray for God to fill you up with something so amazing you'll keep coming back for more and more.
