PREPARATION

Are you one of the walking wounded? Or, worse yet, you're wounded, but no longer walking--just sitting around mopping, muttering, "Why does God not love me anymore? I must have done something really bad."

For this post, let's call him Zane. He's in his late 50's, divorced, living with his mom, broken, and sad. He put his coffee down and stared at the cup. As his eyes began to leak he mumbled, "Why, does God hate me? What have I done? Why is God ignoring me?"

"He's not ignoring you; he has you in the palm of his hand. You just refuse to accept it," I said.

"I know the words, I can quote them, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…' Well, if this is rest, he can have it back."

"I'm tired of the words. They're just Sunday morning words anyway, church words; empty and useless in the real world."

"How long have you felt this way?" I asked.

He lifted his head and looked me straight in the eye, "Since I lost my job, that was 18 months ago. No one wants me, God doesn't want me, I don't even want me!" 

"Zane, God doesn't kick back and give up, or withhold jobs or blessings or gifts. He takes the curves and the spills and the detours with us. He's always right beside us. You've got to turn loose, brother. Accept a God who is bigger than you. You may not like you very much, but he does and you can't stop Him for loving you. His only limitation is your refusal to let go. You are the only thing that can limit him. So just stop it."

"You just don't understand," he cried.

"Thing is, brother, I don't have to; neither do you. It's faith. It's seeing the invisible God who is right here, right now."

"It's up to you!"

INSPIRATION   

You can't miss all the hype about Toy Story 3. I hear it's the best yet. There is a scene in Toy Story 2 that lives on as a reminder of why we are here.

Woody has been stolen from the Yard Sale, kidnapped actually, and locked away with stingers, toys that know more about him then he does. In his words, they were "freaking him out."

The Prospector sees Woody's distress and says, "Why you don't even know who you are, do you?"

The truth? He didn't know. They were strangers, but the new toys knew who he was. How could that me? Woody had never known why he had a hat, or a badge, or a holster. He didn't even understand all the words that came out of him when his string was pulled. After all, his world was Andy's room. Woody was just a toy.

But in this strange place, without friends or Andy or comfortable surroundings, he discovers who he really is. He's a star, a hero, a sheriff, the best "rooten, tootenest cowboy in the wild, wild west."

It was an epiphany. He discovered he is part of story, he's a major player in something bigger, much bigger than himself.

This new awareness changed everything. He had a story. He was valuable, not because he was rare; he was valuable because he was loved.

The story is still being written.

MOTIVATION

Talk to God about what you might say if someone like Zane were to dump his discouragement in your lap.

During these times of extended darkness, keep your eyes open. Look for new understanding. Expect an epiphany. You are part of a story bigger than yourself. So get ready to live it and tell it.

You are marked, you know. You have been signed by the creator, a valuable one of a kind, even if you need a little restoration. It's all part of the story.