Take a Deep Breath!

Lord have mercy, Christmas has come and gone! How did that happen? Not to worry, however, because it will be here again before we know it! In the meantime, we are in the transition period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, which is really a rather interesting time. I say “interesting” time because we tend to look backwards and forwards at the same time. It is much like driving on an interstate highway, where we look ahead through the windshield and behind via the mirrors, and we do both almost at the same time. The truth is, it is this skill that prevents us from causing highway accidents.
Because God is eternal (The Eternal Now, to use the words of Paul Tillich), I seriously doubt that He bothers with a calendar; in all probability, He isn’t too concerned about 2008 ending and 2009 beginning. Furthermore, I am rather certain that He never looks backwards, or forwards, for that matter. Why would the “I Am that I Am” look anywhere other than the eternal present? I mean, after all, this ain’t rocket science. However, the fact that God is living in the eternal now, does not mean that we are doing what He is doing. Actually, we are, but we simply aren’t far enough along the journey of the not-so-eternal-now, to realize it. When we finally get home (before dark!), I think it will all make sense, but I doubt that it will really matter then. Yes, I know that some folk say that it is the journey that matters most, but I think the destination is rather important; after all, at least from my understanding, Home is quite the place, certainly more-than-worth the journey!
Thankfully, God has an ability in His repertoire, that He has chosen to omit from our ours: He sees the entire picture and He sees it fully and completely developed, with the highest of resolutions and in living color. In other words, even though He doesn’t use a calendar, He knows exactly what will take place in every moment of our lives—clean, clear through ‘till next Christmas (even further, to be honest, much further). I say “thankfully” because I don’t think any of us really want all of the details of the next year served up to us on a silver platter. Well, I guess we would, if we could know ahead of time that everything would be A-OK, but the truth is this: everything ain’t going to be A-OK, at least not in our humble opinions, and (I might add) we all know this to be true. Knowing that can be a bit frightening (you can say it isn’t, but you might be lying, too).
So what is our modus operandi, as we face the unknown 365 days of 2009? We operate much the same as we do when we are driving down (up) the interstate: we look ahead and behind at the same time, trying to do all we can to avoid any painful experiences. Some even make New Year’s resolutions, in an attempt to perform a bit more efficiently than in previous years and, thus, decrease the “chances” of painful crashes.
Now don’t go and misunderstand me because I am all-in-favor of each of us attempting to improve; however, I guess I need to tell you that God, the One who is the I AM that I Am, has already decided in your behalf that you won’t miss a thing He has planned for your journey. So take a deep breath and trust you life to the one who knows you best and loves you most! And by the way, keep your eyes on Him, “forgetting the past, and pressing on to know Him . . .”!