Friday, January 4, 2008

So where would I be...

Ok...so I came home from work today (you know, saving lives..) and as I ate my leftover Chinese Dragon chicken fried rice, I turned on the TV. Don't make fun of me, but I started watching the Family Feud. Not the old episodes with the creepy dude that always flirted with the ladies, but with the guy that played Elaine's boss on Seinfeld. Anyway, this episode pitted WWE Wrestling superstars (which Ric Flair is supposedly a part of? I mean, he is at least 72 years old!!) versus the WWE Wrestling "Divas." It was round 1 and they came down to the last girl on the line. The host says, "Michelle, what is your answer?" Then underneath her face it says the name "Michelle McCool." My jaw dropped down and I said to myself, "no freagin way!" I grew up with Michelle McCool in a little town called Palatka, which is about an hour south of Jacksonville along the St. Johns River (it is the bass capital of the world!...no joke). We were actually mixed doubles tennis partners. I played sports and was good friends with both her brother and cousin. Craziness!! So I had to call my dad, older brother, and an old Palatka friend to let them know what I had just witnessed. They were all equally as dumbfounded as I was.

So it made me think the rest of the day about how thankful I am that the Lord took me out of Palatka, FL and placed me in Macon, GA. Nothing against Michelle and her being a WWE Diva (I actually looked her up for kicks on the internet and she has a strong faith and speaks out about how important her relationship with the Lord is), but whenever I think about where I would be if I had stayed in Palatka, it leaves me incredibly thankful. I had a friend in school that was shot in the head over drugs, others that had kids, some are in jail. I don't want to sound to negative about folks in Palatka and I will say that I have other friends that are doing very well for themselves. But it makes you think though? Where would I be and what would I be doing if I was still in Palatka? Would I be in jail? Would I have kids? Would I have a wife? Or more scary, would I be alive (because I didn't always do the "right" thing with the "right" people all of the time)?

But the beautiful thing is that the Lord's hand was on me. I wasn't a Christian when my family moved from Florida to Macon, GA. I was totally against moving! I was involved with sports and people knew me (I was a pretty big deal...just kidding). I was so adamant about not moving that my parents actually thought about letting me stay with my best friend. Ludicrosity!! Here's the scoop though, if I hadn't had moved, I never would have met a group of guys that invited me to a youth retreat, then I never would have had a 'for real' encounter with the Lord, and I never would have surrendered my life and my all to Jesus. It just goes to show you (and I'm reminded of this over and over) that the Lord has plans and purposes for each and every one of us. He has a destiny for you! You may not feel like His hand is on your life now guiding you, but in the future you will look back and say, "Ooohhhh, so that's what You were doing God?!" His plan may be for you to be a star in a wrestling federation and be a Jesus-loving follower on and off screen. Or, He may take you out of a town and place you in an unfamiliar place where you will be able to see Him more clearly. It may be hard and it may hurt, but it so necessary.

If this is you in any way, ask God to increase your faith. If you have disbelief, then ask God to help you with that. He is so good and faithful, and He wants to give you an abundant life and He wants to give you the desires of your heart! Believe!!!

Grace and peace.

5 comments:

AnnieBlogs said...

Good word.

steve and randel hambrick said...

i LOVE the family feud, by the way. i actually looked it up last week to see how to become a contestant (don't laugh-- it's a life dream)...

Anonymous said...

Thats good stuff bro....

carolineb said...

Y'all were rockin' OUT tonite. Thanks for the way you lead us into worship.

Boggsy said...

Caroline,
Thanks for your encouragement! I wish we would have kept going. One of these days we will!