"Don't Pick Me Last!" (Please!)

“Don’t pick me last!”
September 16, 2011
Friday morning.
7:55a.m.
 As I’m preparing for a school day full of kids, tests, and running noses, I’m writing because it’s on my heart. And quite heavily on my heart, might I add.
The desire of every person.
Is.
To want to be wanted.
To be chosen.
To be picked out from the rest.
And those who deny it are just wanting the attention from not wanting to be wanted.

Not only is "don't pick me last!" the universal internal cry of kids on playgrounds, may I dare say it’s the universal eternal cry of people everywhere?
Sometimes, when you look around at the blessings and moving-ons of others, do you ever experience that nagging feeling that God has forgotten you? Your ship has yet to arrive? Or worse yet, your train has already made it to the last destination along your life’s journey?
It’s absurd, really. That idea that says the God of the universe Who brought you here, to this point, in this section of life’s journey, is completely done with you.
When I get to feeling/thinking this way, I tend to revert back to my childhood Sunday-school-song-singing days and find hope in the song that so readily rings true: "He's still working on me, me, me. To make me what I ought to be, be, be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the Earth, and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be. He's still working on me!"

God's in your midst. And you know what? He's working admist your midst.
He may be strategically waiting to give you something, reveal to you something, or perhaps He's simply giving you extra time to cultivate your love relationship with Him.
So, with all said, so what if you’re "picked last" for whatever that fill-in-the-blank in your life is right now?
Does that mean He loves you any less? Nope.
It simply means He’s preparing you on a different time scale.
Your passport to all of life’s coveted “destinations” (marriage, kids, new job, new house, new friends, etc.) may have a different time/date stamp. But trust me, it’ll get there all in time. His time. His perfect timing.
What He has begun in you, He will perfect until the day of His coming.
He’s not done with you. Don’t live in such a way that says you’re “done” with Him - even when you feel you're being "picked last."
After all, good things do come to those that WAIT. :)

When “helping” isn’t all-so-beneficial...

Helpers.

They’re everywhere.

From community helpers to classroom helpers to even Hamburger Helpers, a day’s routine can barely go without them, in some shape, form, or variety.

Yes, they’re everywhere. But what are they there for? You know, helpers are those people who come alongside you and enable you to perform a job/task you could in NO POSSIBLE WAY do on YOUR OWN. They’re the people you call on throughout the day and thank at the end of the day.

Helpers, of every kind, are sprinkled throughout society and littered throughout little elementary school classrooms.

Taken to a Spiritual level, Scripture even speaks to the idea of “helpers,” as it mentions several times about our Helper from on High. God’s not just a helper. The Bible so matter-of-factly reminds us that He’s a VERY PRESENT help - especially in times of trouble.

Interesting, isn’t it that Scripture doesn’t speak on the issue of helpers in reverse? Meaning, it never places God in the needy spot and us, as Christians, as the “helpers.” And why exactly do you think that is? Well, for one, it’s backwards. The God of the Universe doesn’t need our “help.” And two, it’s impossible. You can’t possibly help someone who doesn’t need your assistance.

But yet, we do exactly that with our lives. We try to “help” God out. In big ways. In small ways. In ways that pertain to life’s details. In ways that pertain to life’s timing. In ways that magnify us and diminish the great picture of life going on around us. And when we do so, we just look silly. Foolish, even. To think that we could “help” God when He so VERY PRESENTLY comes to aid and help and protect and guide and grow us throughout all of life’s circumstances.

God is God. He helps you to be you for His glory and your good. NOT the other way around.

 Submit to that. Submit to Him.  Give Him your time. Give Him your life's details. Let Him be your help in whatever it is you’re facing today.

Dreams in my Heart, Pennies in my Pocket

                Have you ever had a dream that seemed plain-out ridiculous? No, I’m not talking about the ones you have when you’re unconscious and are being chased by some make-believe monster (as a direct result of some goofy movie you watched or a spicy-something-or-‘nother from Taco Bell’s fourth quarter menu). Nor am I referring to the dreams that jumble people, situations, and facts from reality all into one big conglomerated messy situation. I’m not even thinking about the ones that seem so real that you wake up dazed and confused and wonder, “Did that really happen, or was it ‘just a dream’?”

                Everyone has those type of dreams.

                I’m questioning about the dreams that are far more important than our unconscious minds can concoct. The ones that are more realistic. More far-fetched. More etched inside your very being. The ones that are far too “silly” for you to tell people about, yet far too big for you to conquer on your own. The ones you have when you’re FULLY AWAKE.

                You know, the good ones that you keep to yourself.      

               

                The ones you wake up with in the mornings, and tuck yourself into bed with at night. The ones you daydream about when you’re performing your regular routines of life (“if only….”). The ones that linger with you throughout the nights when you’ve awoken from a “nightmare”.

                I’m convinced that not everyone has those type of dreams. Or if they do, they’re very good at hiding them. So, rather, I should say this: Not everyone is bold enough to live in a way that proves they even have those type of dreams. But I would be hard-pressed to find any proof to the contrary that those dreams we have are directly placed in us by God. That’s right.

                [Side note: This reminds me of a scene in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit where Whoopie-the-nun-Goldberg is talking to Lauren-teenage-singer-girl-from-the-streets-Hill about pursuing her dreams in life… She says, “If you wake up in the morning and you can’t think about anything but singing, then you should be a singer, girl.”  

                Seque.

                Skip to the part where Whoopie (A.k.a. Sister Mary Clarence) stands up in front of her class of students whose whole world-environment has told them they’ll never amount to anything and boldly remarks, “If you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention.”

                Why do you think she says this? Because the kids in that movie (and in those desperate life situations) needed to hear it. And because it’s true.]

                The best dreams are those you have when you’ve “woken up” so-to-speak from your daily routines and “pay attention” to what it is that truly captivates your interest and revives the passion you have for life.

                Granted, I know Whoopie Goldberg isn’t exactly an authority when it comes to living a God-revering life and living it abundantly, but I do know one thing is for sure: Her character, “Sister Mary Clarence,” had it spot-on.

                With all said, what is that dream you have tucked inside your heart? What is the dream that God Himself has placed inside of you? What-in-the-world would it take for you to share it with others, proceed with prayer, and begin to pursue it today with all that you are? Before the day is out, recognize what it is you’re passionate about. Share it with someone you know, trust, and love. Pray to the God Who gave you that dream. Ask Him to show you the details of how it will all work together for your good and His glory. And. Then. Go. Pursue. That. Thing.

                That’s just a little of what I’ve been thinking lately about my own life and actively pursuing my own dreams. But then again, that’s just my two cents on the whole matter. I only hope and pray that the jingle of two pennies in my pocket stirs you to sit down long enough to recognize the dreams you were made to have. They’re more than something simply to carry around inside of you.  They’re meant to be chased by you. Shared with others. And used to change the world around you.

                Don’t let them go to waste.