Something in the Way We Move...

I saw a movie today that reminded me of moments in my life i'm least proud of. Needless to say it's one i wont recommend. Thinking back on every one of those moments, those decisions i made (and thanking God that by His grace they're fewer and farther between than they could've been) reminded me of a few things: 

First of the ache that so many of us burn with as every muscle in our body moves to depravity. Every thought, every act of our hand works to undo, to disarm, to break down and cripple. Every single prompting from our own mind urges the tongue to spit poison. Poison even to our very own minds and hearts. 

Second of the lengths we go through to ensure that our nature is fed. The elaborate schemes our hearts allow us to prepare to provide fuel for bitterness and hatred, thoughts of death and disunity. Knowing full well all along that we will watch the things we love fall apart for the briefest moments of pleasure. Men will watch families and even nations fall, with greedy beaty eyes drinking in the chaos. Not one of us is immune...

But thirdly... Lastly... most importantly... That there is standard to which all is measured. Only by this standard are our actions and thoughts of greed and blood lust even notable. Only in the light of this perfect standard can we even understand that there is a need - that there is an alternative to... death. 

That this standard lives and breathes. 

Speaking life into darkened hearts and clarity to moldy minds. It changes something so drastically in the way we move. That now our words bring resurrection and our hands bring healing. 

We are people who bear the source of life in our chests, and we forfeit our legacies of vision and purpose because we forget that it's something we have to claim in our lives daily. Saved from the eternal consequence permanently but not from our own desire until faithfully departed. Every moment still presenting the decision to claim our decaying nature or our redeemed inheritance in the way we act. 

Know these truths. Own them. Claim them daily.

Raw, Over Cooked & Half Mixed: A Shout From the Other Side

I've always been a firm believer that if you can read, you can cook. All you need to know is what ingredients you need, what order to add them in and how long to cook. If all of these different variables come together just right, bon appetite. 

What i'm starting to see in our relationships and lives though, is that we often cling to the fact that we have one or some the required variables but not all of them. After all, how hard is it to want something so bad and have all the right ingredients for success, but watch it fail because too much heat or pressure was applied. Or maybe you're going about it just the right way, waiting the perfect length of time. Planning everything out with care. Never rushing so as not to get burned, but the truth is you just didn't have the right ingredients it needed to come out right and eventually.... fail. 

I've been through this a few times now. First couple times i was missing some ingredients. Not to say anything was missing from anyone else in the situation but it just wouldn't have fit the way anyone wanted it to. I've come out raw, overcooked, half mixed but never quite right. i'm not even just talking about dating relationships, but any relationship. 

I miss being in a band, i miss my brothers. I miss creating something from 5 different minds and watching one solid statement come out of it. We just didn't have exactly what needed to make it work without a bit more work, and know i played my part in its end just as much as the next guy.

I'm rambling.

My point is, i'm realizing how beautifully it all comes together when we realize it isn't up to us. We're just a part of the mix. How it happens and when conditions are just right to move and act in life has nothing to do with how we see it. I had to break my heart a couple times to understand that and you probably will too. This is just the shout back from the other reassuring, it was worth it. 

I know i'll see my share of worry fear and failure still, but if you can have the faith and patience just once to see God's sovereign plan run it's course... It's a bit easier the second time to trust. I just keep forgetting that in the panic that comes without fail.

I'm watching everything mix together perfectly and with sheer terrifying excitement and i can honestly say i can't wait for all to come to fruition.