"will you pick me up some of that popcorn?"... x
I was having coffee with my friend Trevor from Nashville and we were talking about life. I told him that life is like a movie script. God has already written our script and we choose the role we want to play. He said,
"Well what? Is God just up in Heaven, watching us and eating popcorn?
I started laughing, knowing that he was only joking. But at the same time I knew that he was speaking out of frustration. He had been going through something for a long time and he was irritated.
I told him to start thanking God for the gifts that he's been blessed with and not to focus on what he doesn't have. I told him to keep writing and playing country music because his gift is a blessing to others. And every girl loves a
"heartbreakin' country love song." ;)
As we were leaving, he said,
"You have a strange way, of being able to change my perspective about life... in a good way, that is! Knowing you, you've probably tasted the popcorn." haha
Well, that got me thinking...
I wonder what the popcorn tastes like, in Heaven?
"My covenant I will not break,
nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips."
As I began writing this, I thought about what the Bible says,
"Looking onto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith." An "author" is someone who writes and creates a story. And a "finisher" is someone who brings it to an end and completes it.
I also remembered what King David said to God, "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book."
Although God has already written our script, we will often times find ourselves rewriting it. Maybe we don't want to do it God's way or maybe we think we can write our own story, better?
There are several people in the Bible that also rewrote their own script. I will briefly share two of their stories with you...
The first story is about Jonah the Prophet... God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and speak to the people on his behalf, in order to save them. Jonah hated the people of Ninevah, because they were wicked. He wanted God to destroy them and he refused to go there and speak to them. He then ran from God, in the opposite direction and got into a boat. A huge storm came and he was thrown overboard. He was then swallowed by a big fish. Once inside the belly of the fish, he began to pray to God and thanked Him for his gift. He then agreed to go to Ninevah. Suddenly the fish vomited and spit him out.
The second story is about Abraham... God promised him all the inheritance of the land. Once Abraham obtained the land, he was concerned that he had no children to leave his estate to. God came to him in a dream. He told him, that he wouldn't leave the earth childless and he would have a son. God then told him, to look up to heaven and count the stars and that's how many his descendants would be. But, years had passed and Abraham and his wife Sarah, were getting old. They still hadn't had any children and had doubts, that it would ever happen. They then decided to take things into their own hands and have a child, through a surrogate birth.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
In both instances they ripped the pages out of Heaven's script and rewrote their own story. This caused them much pain and grief.
Many of us tend to do the same thing. We become frustrated and tired of waiting on God.
Maybe we make a wrong decision or head in the opposite direction? We jump into the wrong boat and suddenly a storm hits us. We then feel like we're stuck in the belly of a whale. At other times, we might doubt that it's ever going to happen for us. It's too late and we're getting too old. We then come up with our own way of making it happen.
One thing that I have learned though, is that our destiny is connected to another person. That other person might also be rewriting their own script, which may cause delay's in our promise from God.
If you look at the wheel on a bicycle for a moment, it has several spokes. The spokes give the wheel strength and holds it together to keep it moving. But, if some of the spokes are broken or missing, the wheel becomes weak. On the other hand, if the wheel has a flat tire then it's not going anywhere. But, all the tire really needs is some new spokes and a little air. This will strengthen the wheel and get it to move, so it can fulfill its purpose.
The obstacles and delay's in life sometimes cause us to become discouraged or depressed. At times we might feel like we're on top of the wheel and at other times we feel like we're on the bottom. But how we taste our situation is all that really matters. Regardless of what we are facing in life, we have the choice to be bitter or sweet.
King Solomon said,
"to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven." He then went on to give us examples, of the times and seasons that we will all go through, such as,
"a time to weep and a time to laugh." Our seasons in life won't last forever and they will come and go. But how we react or respond during those seasons, could change everything.
"the end of a thing is better than its beginning."
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of the things not seen."
Just like in the case of Jonah and Abraham. Jonah ended up going to Ninevah and speaking to the people. He witnessed God's love and mercy for them and for himself. I believe his heart was softened and an entire city was saved, as a result of it. And in the end, God blessed Abraham and Sarah with their very own son, which effected generations to come.
You see... it's not just about us. The choices we make in life not only affect us but they affect everyone that is connected to us. Like every movie, there are different characters, that play different parts. Every person we come in contact with, we have the power to impact by the choices we make.
We also have the ability to change our own character. We can play our part, play a different part, or we can sit back and watch the movie of our life pass us by. We can either, follow Heaven's script or rip out the pages and throw them in the trash.
The funny thing is, if you look at crinkled paper in a trash can, it actually resembles popcorn. Well, we might have a lot of trash cans here on earth but I doubt there are any in Heaven.
Maybe we need to start looking up to Heaven. Smell the SCENT of the freshly, popped popcorn and enjoy its FLAVOR.
You may find that your greatest TREASURE is in the midst of your trash.
In the end, it's NOT about our reputation or what people think about us. But it's our CHARACTER that makes all the difference in the world.
Our character... is the SOUNDTRACK of our life.
BELIEVE that your script is in Jesus' hands, for He is faithful and SHALL fulfill His promises.
♥♰♥
Which brings me back to my first thought...
I don't know what the popcorn tastes like in Heaven but I think I might have a pretty good idea.
"For I know the thoughts
that I think towards you, says the Lord,
thoughts of peace and not evil,
to give you a future and a hope."
He knows where He's taking you...
So enjoy the music along the way.
"The waste basket is a writer's best friend." ~Isaac Bashevis Singer