Where ya been?

Have you ever been excited about going somewhere and a distraction came out of nowhere to keep you from getting there? I mean, just at the moment you were walking out of the door, the phone rang and the person on the other end needed your undivided attention just to share bad news. Maybe you realized that your clothes were not right and you had to stop and change them. Perhaps the baby got sick and you had to stop everything to attend to your child. It is these types of things that just seem to happen at the most inopportune times. It’s then that we find ourselves saying” I really can’t believe this is happening right now!”
On a personal note, I received my unexpected moment just this past Christmas holiday. It was Sunday morning and I was too excited that Christmas was on a Sunday! I woke up super early to prepare for worship and a day with my family. As I approached the time to leave the house, I grabbed the things necessary for my day and headed to the car. Everything was in place so, I returned inside to lock up and head out. Walking out of the door, I went to grab my keys from the spot in the kitchen where I usually keep them. To my surprise, my keys were not there! I felt around and looked all over but they were just not there. Fifteen minutes later I found myself still looking for my keys. Now I was getting frustrated because I always leave them in that one spot. “Where could they be?” I asked myself over and over again. It was all of thirty minutes later when I heard, “Go back to all the places you were when you came home last night!” It was the very vivid voice that I am oh so familiar with. I literally went back to my vehicle and replayed my steps from the night before. I remembered using my keys to get inside so I knew they were not still in the car. As I walked through the house, I had to remember each step I took; each room I entered and what I did in each one. One room in particular was full of boxes, wrapping paper and trash bags where I had spent time wrapping gifts but did not put them away in their proper place as I went along. I was so preoccupied that I just had stuff everywhere! I had to look under things and step over a lot to see if they were there. My keys had to be in here!
And so, it was here that I was taken back to my life as it related to this isolated incident. I remembered places I had been and things that had happened to me that I did not deal with properly. It was these things that stopped me from going forward, from getting where I needed to be to enjoy the life God had designed just for me. What better time than Christmas, the time we celebrate the Savior’s birth and, the ending of a year to reflect over my own life and see how far God had brought me. Sometimes God will slow us down so we can just think of how life really is with Him. I realized so much in just a short period of time of losing my keys. I often hear people say, “God is keeping you from getting somewhere at this moment to protect you”. And although I believe that He does create situations to protect us, His desire is never to prevent us from reaching our destination. According to John 10:10, all of our lives have been prearranged for us to be all that we are supposed to be and to enjoy life to the fullest as Christ would have us to. I was ready to enjoy my day, hear the word of God preached from my pastor and spend the day with my family. Surely, God had no problem with me doing those things on His day! But I believe in my heart that before I could enjoy the fullness of my day, I had to be reminded of the life of Christ and how it relates to the life of a Christian. No matter how we are inconvenienced, it will never be any comparison to His. Born of a virgin in a manager because there was no room in the inn; misunderstood by His own family, betrayed and denied and doubted by His own disciples and just criticized for everything He did. If that was not enough, His life was the substitute on a bloody cross so that you and I could enjoy holidays and friends! What a Savior! What a life! He was treated like trash but was the greatest treasure we will ever receive! No wonder my keys were found at the bottom of trash bag filled with wrapping paper and empty boxes. I was so focused on what I needed to do right now that I forgot about putting my keys in the normal spot to get me where I was going tomorrow. That’s the least place we ever want to look when we need something. My entire day was incredible because I was able to stop and replay my steps and take them for what they were worth. I admonish you to do the same as we have entered a brand new year. I know we are all excited about where we are headed but remember, where we have been plays a huge part in getting us there! Although you may experience some minor setbacks and moments that will slow you down this year, God has made it clear that this year has been preordained to be the best ever! Now, get rid of all of that trash and get some order in your life!