Have you ever felt like Alice through the looking glass? You know what I mean...you wake up one day and wonder, "where am I? why am I here? this isn't where I was headed so how'd I end up here?" That happens to all of us at one time or another. Sometimes it's a stack of bills that gets your attention. Other times, it might be a rut at work that brings those questions to mind. Sometimes it's a frustrating day when you feel like you're giving up 40 hours a week of free time by keeping your kids home and they don't appreciate it one bit.
The Looking Glass is a world where, if you look where you started out, it wouldn't make any sense at all. I grew up outside of Boston, working in advertising. In just 15 short years, I found myself a stay-at-home homeschooling mother of 3, living in NH, on a fixed income that seemed to be fixed just below what was needed. Like Alice, I wondered how that had happened. I had plans of living in a brownstone on Copley Square, hanging out at the real "Cheers" down the street, driving a sports car and maybe, just maybe, I'd find an adventurous outdoorsy type of husband who would whisk me off to an adventure on the weekends. But God had other plans...(truth be told, I did get the outdoorsy man of my dreams).
Once upon a time there was a man who had it all. He grew up 2nd in line to the throne of a huge nation. He had the best of everything, until one day, he realized he'd been adopted. Suddenly, everything he thought he knew was wrong. He was a poor son, to a poor family, that belonged to the lowest class of people in this same nation. Now he didn't fit in either class. In a short time, he found himself wandering in the backside of the desert tending unruly sheep. His name was Moses. And I would guess that he also fell through The Looking Glass wondering what had happened? why was he born? what greatness could he possibly contribute to the world being a shepherd? what real difference did his life as a shepherd make in the grand scheme of things? But again, God had other plans...
You too have a story. You began with hopes and dreams. Maybe you were one of the fortunate to hear God's calling early and you've followed the path He's led you down all along. But maybe, just maybe, you too are in The Looking Glass. If not, I would bet someone you know and love is.
My message is just a reminder that what seems like the wrong path may really be God preparing you for something great, you just don't know it yet. I've seen God do amazing things through people who never felt they could do it. The very thing you may be fighting or dealing with now might be the strengthening and refining of the Master's fire. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (NIV)
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Sometimes this life is frustrating. We feel like we're running around in circles and accomplishing nothing. We wonder what happened to the exciting life we thought we were working towards. We pray now that you'd help us take a step back and remember that no matter whatever journey we're on, You're the one in control of it. We trust You to guide us,
and to light the right path for us, even if it's different from what our worldly nature seeks. Our most important goal is to run the race YOU'VE prepared for us. We seek only to do Your will, and we pray that You'll walk beside us to the finish line.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
