God Works Behind the Scenes

The lights fade as the curtain rises and quiet fills the air. The audience waits expectantly as the actors enter the stage on cue. Caught up in the story, we rejoice at the hero’s triumphs and cry over each loss riveted until the final scene unfolds and the curtain closes.


Ah, the theater. It’s so enjoyable to watch stories come to life. I remember my first Shakespearean play when I realized the story was truly meant to be funny. Reading the words hadn’t made them come alive the same way they had with the actors on stage. But did you know that there is much more to a production that what is seen by the audience? Back stage there are multiple crews of people working furiously behind the scenes to change sets, deliver props, cue the actors, and provide lights, sounds and special effects. Without their work, the show couldn’t go on.


I discovered this as a volunteer on musicals my daughter has been involved in. My first assignment was back-stage and now by choice that’s where you’ll find me. Whether the assignment is stage hand or stage manager it’s hectic and chaotic but it’s where all the real action happens. Only there do you have a complete view of everything. The last show we did was Beauty and the Beast. What the audience couldn’t see, as Beast and Gaston fought on the castle, were the stage hands slowly maneuvering the set pieces into place until the balcony reached center stage. When Gaston fell to his death only we behind the scenes could see that he was actually in no danger but safely caught by a cushioned mat and several men.


Life is God's stage where He orchestrates behind the scenes in ways we never fully realize. He may slowly position things into place until all is aligned and His plan is revealed or should we stumble and fall His unseen arms are there to catch us and save us from harm.  At times we can clearly see His hand in the moment but more often we only see it in retrospect. Looking back on your life how often can you see God’s involvement? Just because you didn’t realize it at the time doesn’t change the fact that He was always there.


When we look with audience eyes we only see what is happening on the immediate stage of life which can lead to doubt and fear. But God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. When we look instead with eyes of faith the curtain is pulled back to reveal that much is happening on His spiritual realm. God is always working for the good of His children. 





Message for the Journey:

Don’t be discouraged. Just because you don’t see anything happening right now, doesn’t mean that God isn’t working in your life. Continue to press on in obedience; in His time all will be revealed.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

©Ann Wilds 2011

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The Secret to a Successful Marriage

                 

The Secret to A Successful Marriage? Take a Ride on an ATC

Colorado is my all-time favorite state to visit. It's beautiful no matter the season. If you have a chance to go, be sure to explore some of the less-traveled roads. You won’t be disappointed the views are magnificent. But be sure to take a vehicle designed to navigate the back country terrain. Barely deserving the name, the dirt roads will be full of hazards; deep holes, large boulders, and bumps of every size. Some roads will even take you so close to the edge of the mountain you'll fear looking over for fear of shifting the vehicle off the side. The drive to get there won't be exactly smooth sailing but the trip will be well worth it.

Like back country roads, the roads of a marriage can be full of hazards from little bumps like the daily stress involved in sharing a home to major obstacles like a lost job or sudden illness. The only way to travel through them successfully is with an ATC (all-terrain commitment) vehicle.

From the start, if either of you are less than 100% committed to a lasting marriage the relationship will falter when the hazards on the marriage road approach. It takes all terrain commitment to successfully navigate the peaks and valleys of the marriage trail as it crosses through the territories of for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health until death do us part. Just like in Colorado, the trip at times may be difficult but oh, it is well worth the effort.


      "Motto for the bride and groom: We are a work in progress with a lifetime contract." Phyllis Koss

How Forgiveness Helps You Heal

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”       Matthew 18:21-22

Have you ever been wronged by someone, by more than one someone? If you’re over the age of two, I’m certain your answer is yes. It’s simply part of being human. We’re selfish creatures who hurt each other, sometimes by accident sometimes by intent. When we’re the ones wounded we’re faced with two choices, we can forgive or we can hold on to the offense. At times the transgression is minor and easy to forgive but at others we become stuck in the mire of unforgiveness.

We may believe that by refusing to forgive we’re punishing the offender, but the truth is we don’t hurt them we hurt ourselves. "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die". It spreads bitterness through the soul while infection festers in the original wound. Until it is cleansed through forgiveness, the wound can’t heal.

We may resist granting forgiveness because we don’t fully understand what exactly it is.

Forgiveness doesn’t:

• deny what happened to you
• make what happened acceptable
• grant permission for it to happen again
• take away the consequences they will face for their sin
• make you weak
• require their repentance
• hold on to the desire to hurt them

Forgiveness is:

• a difficult and uncomfortable process
• different than trust which must be earned
• freeing yourself from the offender’s power in your life
• about how much you trust God to take care of you
• empathy for the offender, humility about your own sins and gratitude to God for your forgiveness


The cleansing power of forgiveness washes the wound and brings healing; it frees us to move on with life. Through it our relationship with the Father is opened for it keeps us in obedience to His word. If you're struggling to forgive someone, turn to the One who has forgiven all of our sins and He will give you aid.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col 3:13

Message for the Journey:

“As you extend forgiveness, you are not saying that the one who hurt you was right, but rather that God is just and that what He will do is right.” –J. Velez The Road to Forgiveness

5 Gifts of Failure

Failure, the word alone invokes visions of gloom and disaster. To be called one is to be labeled worthless- a loser. Fear of failure is so great that many never even venture an attempt. Ships of dreams and visions never set sail from the safety of the harbor of our hearts for fear of possible storms. Yet, the underlying fear is not that the ship will sink but that we will be sunk. This thinking is the result of a faulty view.


Babies fall time and again learning to walk yet they aren’t afraid to try once more. We don’t consider them failures yet we give ourselves that label when we fall. One struggling with a rebellious teen says, “I’m a failure as a parent”. When a new venture struggles to be profitable, another says, “I’m a failure as a businessman.” While still another receives a rejection letter from a publisher and says “I’m a failure as a writer”. The words need not even be spoken out-loud but they have a profound effect on our psyche nevertheless.


It is time to understand that our failures do not define who we are. Failure is simply an event, never a person.(*Brown) God creates no failures; we are each a masterpiece. If we disparage our worth, we disrespect God's work.


When we give in to fear and fail to try or try again ,we grant it power over our lives. Yet, fear is never from God. How often in His word are we told “fear not”. Release the fear to Him and press on through the trial. Remember, as a child of God's you know how the book of life turns out. If it’s not good right now, it’s because it’s not over.(*Maxwell) Have faith and persevere.


Instead of allowing fear to cripple your progress, welcome failure as an “opportunity to begin again more intelligently” (Henry Ford). Each failure is a gift to examine for through it we learn:


1. Perseverance- It took Edison thousands of attempts before perfecting the light bulb yet he never stopped trying. Get back up and try again. It's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up.


We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. Romans 5:3

2. Limitations- Failure brings us face to face with our limitations. It is at the end of ourselves that we most clearly see God in His full glory. We are limited, God is limitless.


"God's all-sufficiency is a major. Your inability is a minor. Major in majors, not in minors."     Corrie ten Boom


3. Knowledge- Through failure we learn what didn't work both in ourselves and in our approach enabling us to make improvements and explore alternatives. How much better to learn that sooner rather than later. When asked about his failure, Edison would simply respond that he hadn't failed; he'd simply learned ten thousand ways not to make light bulb.


Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly. Proverbs 13:16


4. God Reliance- When we fall down the best place to fall is back on God. When we depend upon ourselves failure is inevitable for we are imperfect. But when we depend on Him our future is always secure.


And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. Romans 8:28


5. Commitment- Failure gives us pause to consider how committed we are to our goal; to consider how much we believe in the path we are on. A difficult obstacle cannot be overcome until we hold nothing back.The greater our hunger to attain, the greater our motivation to succeed.


Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3



Success in any avenue in life is a process of trial and error. Failure will come. When it does welcome the gifts it brings you. Use them to grow more fully into the person God created you to be. The only real failure is not falling down but staying down. (*Pickford)



Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4