Vol III: #20 Head Up Not Head Down
There are choices we make when we are young and unaware of the consequences of our choices. Though the choices greet us everyday, we are pushed to one side or the other by parents and teachers and the culture surrounding us. We fidget and think simple thoughts and follow. Before we know it, we walk and talk like those around us. And, we live a life of self-defeat and frustration.
I heard an old man talk about his children, how he worried for his teenage daughters alone at home. His mind raced and created the worst outcomes. How could he be so foolish? He was their father and protector. How would they survive without his presence? When he’d finally pulled into the drive way, his fears fell away. No signs of a break-in. No blood. His girls were safe as normal.
After decades of these moments, of expecting the worst and planning for grief, the old man dared asked does it have to be this way? Through an old friend his question was answered, no. You do not need to live in fear of life. And so, the gray-haired man put his feet on the other path, the one he missed as a child.
The truth is life will try to steal, kill, and destroy every good thing. But, we need not trudge our way through life, head down and depressed. Whatever happens in our lives, what we choose is how we live. We can dance and laugh and look for the sun every morning regardless of the onslaught to come. Or we can shelter in the back room waiting for every evil thing to rip us apart.
And this is the secret, to choose life and joy, to look foolish in the storms and peace among our enemies. The grief will come, so what? God is still good. Joy is always real and peace is meant for the lowest moments.
Lord, I laugh at my mistakes and anxieties.
I am daily your delight,
You delight in me and who I am.
And, I will grab onto You every morning.
Whatever comes, I will show my face to Yours,
and receive Your love and word.
