Watch Your Lane

I had a short but sobering dream last night. I was driving on a highway, letting my mind wander, and drifting into the right-hand lane. Suddenly I was too surrounded by other vehicles to safely switch lanes, and my lane was labeled Exit Only. So against my will, I had to leave the direction I'd meant to go and I found myself speeding along towards a destination I didn't know and didn't want. I woke up then, and realized that in real highway life, all I'd lost was time. That sort of drifting can always be corrected by turning around and regaining one's direction. But I lay there awhile thinking how the dream applies to life, where drifting onto an "off" ramp isn't always so easy to correct. We intend to nurture our most precious relationships. We mean to walk closely with God and grow in spiritual understanding. We want to maintain healthy habits. But our mind wanders, we let self-indulgence creep in, and to our horror we discover that we've drifted into a lane that is taking us in a direction we had no intention of going. I took the dream as a call to watchfulness and daily renewal.

I'm feeling quite well this morning and looking forward to learning and worshiping with fellow Christians today.

More than three years ago, I hired the Relevant Design Group to do the layout for the SIM magazine. This group publishes Relevant magazine, which is for 20-somethings, and I wanted our magazine to be appealing to young readers. Even though I can scarcely remember being in my 20s (and I don't like who I was then), I still read every word of their magazine and I love it. May I share a paragraph from page 71 of "A New Year Manifesto" in their January-February issue?

"You have a choice. When opportunity roars in this new year, you have a choice to make: run away or grab life by the tail. Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and the last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. And remember: if God is for us, who can be against us?" (It was written by Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. Wouldn't it be great to visit his church sometime?)

Today is a precious day. May we use it to celebrate and worship "what's right with God"--which is everything!

Love,
Carol