That crazy Key...

I couldn't have made this up if I wanted to...

So some of you may remember last month the story that I told you about my key and how I had lost it and what God told me in the process...well...it happened again...

So I had left the house to go work out and had finished and come home. I was getting out of my car and I saw that I had some travel mugs (I love travel mugs!) that needed to be washed. So grabbed them in one arm and in the other hand I had my little key there and an empty starbucks (I love starbucks...I love coffee...) cup that I was going to throw away in our big green trash container that you have to take out to the street every week.

Now as far as trash containers go, ours is pretty normal...its green...we put our trash in it...it stinks...nothing special about it. So I'm walking over to our big green trash container with my starbucks cup and Key in hand. For about 2 seconds, the thought flashed through my mind "what if I drop my Key in the trash?" but I quickly dismissed that thought because I felt like I had a pretty good grip on it and besides, who on earth would throw away their car key?

So I open the lid and then promptly procede to throw both my used and empty Starbucks cup AND my key into our completely normal and 2/3 of the way full, big green trash container.

Hm.

I have to be completely honest. The first word that came out of my mouth, wasn't very Christlike.

But then I did what anyone in my position would have to do...I began taking out the trash. And that is when I began to realize that what I thought was a completely normal green trash container, was actually something special. I don't quite know how to describe the aroma that was emmanating from the container, but Fierce is a good place to start. And as I'm pulling bags of rotten garbage and soggy pizza boxes out the trash container, I am desperately hoping that somehow, someway that my Key has gotten stuck on something maybe halfway down, so that i can gingerly reach in and pull it out. But with each passing moldy banana peel and empty Starbucks cup (do I really drink that much coffee??) my hope of not having to go all the way to the bottom quickly diminished.

And finally...there it was. Nestled in a pool of putrid trash water with chunks floating in it. And as I reach down to the bottom of our trash container, I was hit in the face with an odor that reminded me of the great smoking mountain of trash that i witnessed in the Phillipine Islands...Unbelievable.

I grab my Key and as I'm putting the pizza boxes and bags of garbage back in the trash container, I say out loud, "Well God...what was the point of that one?"

As I was coming into the house, trying not to gag as I relived what I had just experienced, I felt the still small voice of God begin to speak to my heart. And this was what He reminded me...

He reminded me that there are going to be times in our lives where we are going to have to go through some of the stinkiest, smelliest things to actually get that something that is extremely important to us. But if we will stay focused, and keep our eyes focused on Him and not on the trash around us, He will bring us through those moments with that which matters the most in our grasp.

Keep your eyes on Him my friend. He is the Key...

A little nugget...

So those of you who aren't sports fans are going to laugh at me, but i was just sitting here watching a little sportscenter and i heard one of the commentators make this comment:

"Sports requires such a great mindset, and a focus to be great..."

Now before I get going, I want to just let you know that I'm not really gonna hold anything back here. Without really going into details, I want to be honest. I am going through some really, really difficult stuff right now. And even though I can't share what the stuff is, the simple fact is that this is probably one of the most difficult seasons of my life. I don't really understand what it is that God is doing with me and I feel like I am alone. There have been some pretty big hurts that have happened in my life and the one thing that I keep hearing myself say is "I just don't understand..."

Do you remember that verse that says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding...." (proverbs 3:5) well...after hearing the Sportscenter guy say what he said, I began ro realize a little better what this verse means. It really isn't about understanding at all...its about the FOCUS of your understanding. If all I ever focus on is how much I don't understand and how much things hurt and how none of anything makes any sense, then of course I will be hurt and bothered and upset...But if I will MAKE myself focus on what I DO understand...that God is a loving God (John 3:16)...that He has good plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11)...that He is my protector and place of safety (Proverbs 18:10), then and ONLY then will this life be what God has promised - ABUNDANT (John 10:10)

In other words...it has to be an act of your will to make yourself focus on the Lord. Make yourself focus on His promises. Hey, I'm in your shoes ok? I KNOW how hard it is to make yourself do that...to ignore how much your heart is breaking. To forget about the pain and the hurt...I'm IN it right now! But our Life as Christians requires such a great mindset, and a focus to be great.

Keep your eyes up my friend...

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."
Romans 12:2