Never Say Never

In the singing voice of one Fievel Mousekewitz, "Never Say Never". That's right. I can't tell you how many times in the last two or three years I've watched myself do something I said I would never do. Isn't it funny how you chew up your words as you get older? My first realization was on my 30th birthday. It was a time of reflection over the last ten years of my life, and I was flabbergasted at how I had become one of the dorky 30-year-olds that I had seen as a 20-year-old. I was so much smarter than those old folks way back then. What's funny is how stupid I really was and how those folks were way wiser than me, I just couldn't see it. I won't get into the specifics, but just take it as scene one of my trek into the "never" land. :)

There are so many other things that have changed in my views and in my life lately. The deeper I get into The Word of God, the more I realize that all of those things (again, I'm not going to get specific) I used to think were silly and didn't matter have totally taken on new and profound meaning. The reason I won't get specific? Because most of them are considered "radical" thinking in today's society. Some of them are even considered old-fashioned. I'm just not into sparking a debate through this post, so I'm not going to mention what they are. Just use your imagination. Funny how God will change your mind on things to align with what He says. For too long I was oblivious to what The Word said about certain issues because I took what people around me believed to be of more relevance. The truth is, though, that God's Word is and always will be living and totally relevant to our day and time no matter what day and time that may be. It is not antiquated and it is definitely not a suggestion. Now, some of you may tell me that how I interpret different passages may be different then the way you interpret them. Totally true when you're looking at specific verses. The way to interpret the Bible, though, is not by picking one verse and using it to support your view on any given issue. Instead, you read the Bible and let God speak to you through the words on the page (believe me, He totally will shake up your world) and evaluate its entirety. Every book goes together and shapes a beautiful picture. There is so much there, and every time you go into it you see something amazingly relevant to your day and your lot. No coincidence there, I assure you. Don't take scripture and use it to confirm your beliefs or condemn another person. Put aside your beliefs and let the scripture speak to you and transform you.

It's become a pretty significant thing to me when I hear Christians say that they believe certain things are okay even though God has shown me complete opposition through His Book. It takes a lot to not say anything. I know I probably should. Instead, I just let their words punch me in the gut, then I move on and recall the day when I used to say the same thing even though I was a Christian. You see, folks. Just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I've always had it all figured out. Doesn't even mean I'll EVER have even half of it all figured out. It means that God will sanctify me, perfect me, through every circumstance of my life........IF I let Him. It's all about surrendering, though, and I wake up every day and wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure out how to do that or even that I was supposed to. So incredibly glad that He is made perfect in my weakness. Praise the Lord for that! He's got a whole lot to work with in that department.

On to my next point.....if you ever plan to have children or even if you currently have children, please, please don't ever say, "I will NEVER own a minivan." I can almost guarantee that the very utterance of that statement will ultimately seal your fate as a minivan owner within the next 8-10 years. Guarantee. #1 Case in point ~ Me. #2 ~ Chandler. That's right, folks. We're the very proud new owners of a minivan! {Sigh} If my 20-year-old self could see me now.....