Imagine This Story...
Imagine this story with me for a moment…
I have been thinking about and planning on going to this really nice restaurant, up in Seattle, for over a month. I want it to be an amazing trip; special, memorable, and perfect. When I get to Seattle, traffic is terrible, and I am late to the restaurant, so they give my awesome table away, and I end up with one close to the kitchen. It’s noisy, and there is little magic in the experience. I decide to go for a walk after my meal like I had planned, but now it is raining. It’s not just raining, it’s pouring! I am determined to push ahead, so I go for the walk, absolutely soaked, but there is still a sense of excitement in my heart to do what I planned. I walk down the boardwalk of Seattle, soaked to the bone, and in a place where there is a puddle I go to my knee, soaking my pants down to the sock, and up to the belt with a large mud-filled splash. I get up, I walk down to the beach, and walk along on the wet sand in the rain for an hour, before deciding to call it a night and head home.
Kind of a sad and bizarre story right?
Listen to it again with this small change:
I have been thinking about and planning on going to this really nice restaurant, up in Seattle, for over a month in order to propose to the woman of my dreams. I want it to be an amazing trip; special, memorable, and perfect. When I get to Seattle, traffic is terrible, and we are late to the restaurant, so they give my awesome table away, and we end up with one close to the kitchen. It’s noisy, and there is little magic in the experience, but we are together and my stomach is filled with butterflies. I decide to ask her to go for a walk after our meal, like I had planned, so I can ask her to be my bride; but now it is raining. It’s not just raining, it’s pouring! I am determined to push ahead, so I go for the walk, absolutely soaked, but there is still a sense of excitement in my heart to do what I planned. We walk down the boardwalk of Seattle, soaked to the bone, to a place where I decide to kneel down to ask her to marry me. I was so excited I didn’t notice there was a puddle where I got down on my knee. It soaked my pants down to the sock, and up to the belt with a large mud-filled splash. I didn’t care; I asked if she’d be mine, and she said, “Yes!” I get up, and we walk down to the beach, and walk on the wet sand in the rain for an hour, smiling, laughing and sharing, before deciding to call it a night and head home.
Same story… what changed in the second one was who they were with, and their relationship together.
I share this to say, I think this is a picture that can help us as Christians. Sometimes we get so obsessed with the good or bad circumstances we are in, whether it’s raining or sunny, if the traffic is bad or good, or where our table is placed in the restaurant.
Jesus is with us, whether it is valleys or mountains. Let’s spend more time focused on Who we are with, instead of our surroundings, and see what changes for us.
I love you church, and I’m thankful to be walking with you!
Daniel
August 25, 2021
I have been thinking about and planning on going to this really nice restaurant, up in Seattle, for over a month. I want it to be an amazing trip; special, memorable, and perfect. When I get to Seattle, traffic is terrible, and I am late to the restaurant, so they give my awesome table away, and I end up with one close to the kitchen. It’s noisy, and there is little magic in the experience. I decide to go for a walk after my meal like I had planned, but now it is raining. It’s not just raining, it’s pouring! I am determined to push ahead, so I go for the walk, absolutely soaked, but there is still a sense of excitement in my heart to do what I planned. I walk down the boardwalk of Seattle, soaked to the bone, and in a place where there is a puddle I go to my knee, soaking my pants down to the sock, and up to the belt with a large mud-filled splash. I get up, I walk down to the beach, and walk along on the wet sand in the rain for an hour, before deciding to call it a night and head home.
Kind of a sad and bizarre story right?
Listen to it again with this small change:
I have been thinking about and planning on going to this really nice restaurant, up in Seattle, for over a month in order to propose to the woman of my dreams. I want it to be an amazing trip; special, memorable, and perfect. When I get to Seattle, traffic is terrible, and we are late to the restaurant, so they give my awesome table away, and we end up with one close to the kitchen. It’s noisy, and there is little magic in the experience, but we are together and my stomach is filled with butterflies. I decide to ask her to go for a walk after our meal, like I had planned, so I can ask her to be my bride; but now it is raining. It’s not just raining, it’s pouring! I am determined to push ahead, so I go for the walk, absolutely soaked, but there is still a sense of excitement in my heart to do what I planned. We walk down the boardwalk of Seattle, soaked to the bone, to a place where I decide to kneel down to ask her to marry me. I was so excited I didn’t notice there was a puddle where I got down on my knee. It soaked my pants down to the sock, and up to the belt with a large mud-filled splash. I didn’t care; I asked if she’d be mine, and she said, “Yes!” I get up, and we walk down to the beach, and walk on the wet sand in the rain for an hour, smiling, laughing and sharing, before deciding to call it a night and head home.
Same story… what changed in the second one was who they were with, and their relationship together.
I share this to say, I think this is a picture that can help us as Christians. Sometimes we get so obsessed with the good or bad circumstances we are in, whether it’s raining or sunny, if the traffic is bad or good, or where our table is placed in the restaurant.
Jesus is with us, whether it is valleys or mountains. Let’s spend more time focused on Who we are with, instead of our surroundings, and see what changes for us.
I love you church, and I’m thankful to be walking with you!
Daniel
August 25, 2021
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