One Slide at a Time

Christmas is a time for celebrating with family and friends. The joy on children's faces as they open their gifts contagiously spreads through the room. The food served once a year and the traditions are heart warming and satisfying. Reminders of God's love have perfect timing after growing tired and rundown from preparing for all the lasting memories. Despite the abundant amount of time, thoughtfulness and preparation toward these joyous occasions, the joy of Christmas can be stolen and destroyed by pain and grief in an instant.

Pain and sadness from divorce, accidents, death, violent storms and fatal diagnosis can make us all wonder why? Why at a time when we celebrate our Savor's birth? The day after Christmas in Texas, all of the Christmas joy shared on social media was so quickly transformed to the devastation of the deadly tornados. Things like this need to be understood as distractions of the evil one as he will do anything to attempt to tear us away from our Heavenly Father. Although we do not understand it all or have the ability to see the big picture, we need to remain faithful and not allow the evil one control.

One Slide at a Time

I remember playing with an odd looking toy when I was young. The View Master was this red, weird looking thing with what appeared to be eyes in the front. It had a slide push down button on the side and a place to look through the back. It wasn't anything spectacular until you added the circular film card and looked through the back. The slides came to life and told a story with each push of the button.

I think when we get to Heaven we will each be given a View Master and have our own personal filmcards labeled like our parent's old videos of us when we were growing up. We will be able to see all of the missing pieces we never see on this earth and have caused us to question God. We will see the complete and beautiful story God wrote in our lives as opposed to a few selections of film we see now.

The Bible makes it clear God will only do what is right and good for us. How we decide to live each of our days will determine the outcome of our stories. It is not up to God. It is up to us. We have so much control over our own stories without realizing. Our heart drives our decisions. Whether we realize it or not, we decide what to do with each moment and God documents it all.

There is no doubt the enemy will come to kill, steal and destroy. There is no doubt the free will of man and the fall of the world will make for some unsettling times. Think for a moment. Will you look at your own individual slides in the light of Jesus' presence with disappointment, regret and shame? Or will you pull for the next slide with accomplished anticipation of joy, love and happiness?

Imagine how beautiful our stories can be! All the seasons we feel no one accepts or understands us. All the pain and times we feel alone. All the times we wonder if we are going in the right direction and perhaps feel incomplete. God does not stop loving. He sees and loves you as the child He created. He does not see and judge you as the world does. Sometimes we are very harmfully in tune with what we think others think of us and very far from the truth of what God knows of us. Focusing on God's truths will allow us to focus on making each slide beautiful no matter what is thrown in our direction. God won't be concerned with anyone but us when we are face to face. We have the choice to follow God now and the option to live out His ways daily as best we can with improvement, forgiveness and grace. The ugly can be made beautiful if we allow God's transforming hand to change our lives.

Lord, give us the desire to create beautiful stories rather than dark and sad stories filled with worry, lies and deceit. May your perfect love pour into our lives after we seek and find You to create true joy within us. Amen.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father -- and I lay down my life for the sheep. -John 10:10-15 NIV

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace. -Romans 6:12-14 NLT