What's Lurking Beneath the Surface?

Carlie snuggled quietly under her favorite blanket in her room. She loved the mornings, being in her favorite place, her home. She peeked out of her half closed eyes at the window where the shades were drawn. She guessed it to be all most 7:00 AM. She could see daylight starting to break through the curtains. Everything seems so perfect and undisturbed. She felt so comfortable. She tried to force herself to get up but she didn't want to move. Suddenly, she felt something move on her leg underneath the blanket. She reached down into the covers to brush it away. Carlie drifted back to sleep, happy to not have to be up at any certain time today. Little did Carlie realize what was lurking beneath the surface of her covers. 

Carlie snuggled quietly under her favorite blanket in her room. She loved the mornings, being in her favorite place, her home. She peeked out of her half closed eyes at the window where the shades were drawn. She guessed it to be all most 7:00 AM. She could see daylight starting to break through the curtains. Everything seems so perfect and undisturbed. She felt so comfortable. She tried to force herself to get up but she didn't want to move. Suddenly, she felt something move on her leg underneath the blanket. She reached down into the covers to brush it away. Carlie drifted back to sleep, happy to not have to be up at any certain time today. Little did Carlie realize what was lurking beneath the surface of her covers. Carlie snuggled quietly under her favorite blanket in her room. She loved the mornings, being in her favorite place, her home. She peeked out of her half closed eyes at the window where the shades were drawn. She guessed it to be all most 7:00 AM. She could see daylight starting to break through the curtains. Everything seems so perfect and undisturbed. She felt so comfortable. She tried to force herself to get up but she didn't want to move. Suddenly, she felt something bite her leg underneath the blanket. She quickly pulled back to blanket to discover she was not alone. 

There are two scenarios above. In one, Carlie is happy and unaware that something is wrong. In the other, she feels pain and realizes that she has a problem. If you were Carlie would you rather fall back asleep, unaware that you have a problem, or would you rather realize it right away and deal with the problem? I often here people say that they don't believe in God because there is so much pain in the world. I believe there is so much pain in this world because there is so much sin in this world. God loves us so much. He allows us to experience pain so that we can see where there is sin. He wants to protect us from sin so He makes us aware of it. He loves us too much to just let us drift back to sleep comfortably in an unsafe situation.

IF YOU COULD DO ANYTHING

I remember as a child my little sister used to dream of flying. She saw this movie called "The Boy Who Could Fly" and she wanted to be able to fly. She was so excited when her birthday finally came, no more waiting for her dream to come true! She used her birthday wish to wish she could fly and I remember watching her check her back every morning for wings. She was sure that her shoulder blades were starting to show little stubs of wings growing in. She was so excited and so full of joy that it was so hard to not agree with her. Her innocence was beautiful. Her fire and passion to be and do all that she ever wanted was amazing to watch. It was painful, almost unbearable to watch her dreams go up in smoke. As the days passed and the wings did not come, her impeccable innocence began to fade. At first her questioning began. She questioned if she had wished wrong or too soon or not closed her eyes tight enough when she made her wish. Then the doubt came. She started to wonder if her wings were ever going to come. She began to doubt that God was listening and then came the anger. She was mad that God had not heard her. He must not have been listening, or even worse He had heard and He was ignoring her request. Why had that boy gotten to fly and she was not able to as well? She blamed God for shattering her dreams. I blamed Him for shattering her heart. So many disappointments come with this beautiful thing that we call life. I don't think there is a way to go back to that innocent place in time before we realize that things here on this earth are not always fair or safe or even comprehendible. Who do we blame for our disappointments, ourselves, our parents, our Creator? We have no control and we don't know how to make things work out the way we want them. We don't know how to make things our way. After all, isn't our way the best way? Isn't that how we will ultimately end up happy, getting our way? I think back again to my sister and watching her grow up. I remember one of her first crushes. She made a big banner with paper and crayons and displayed it on the wall in her room. It said "I luv Pat". If you had asked her what she wanted in life she would have said she wanted Pat and she would have meant it will every ounce of her being, just as much as she meant it when she wished to be able to fly. She knew exactly at that time what she thought would make her happy. She didn't care if Pat was a good or bad person. She didn't care if God had a different path for her life. It was as if she had horse blinders on and could only see one thing. Where is Pat today? Is he in jail? Is he living on the street? Is he a millionaire? A missionary? A professor at some no name college in a no name little town? Has he gone on to meet his maker? Where are your dreams? It has been so long. Are they packed up in a dusty attic somewhere lost back in time with all that hope you let go of so long ago? Are they hidden someone in a box marked "when God abandoned me" or "why I don't believe in God" or "Why I am mad at the world"? When was your innocence stolen? Was it when your Daddy left? Your Papa passed away? Your brother stole your favorite doll and she was gone forever? Was it when you blew out your knee and lost that baseball scholarship, and your hope of ever being really great? Close your eyes, really tight. Imagine the heat from the candles and the smell of your favorite birthday cake. Now make a wish. It's not too late to dream. Will you wake up with wings tomorrow? Probably not, but that doesn't mean that you weren't meant to fly. That doesn't mean that God doesn't still have something amazing in store for you. He created you. He knows you inside and out and He knows exactly what you need, what you want, and what is absolutely best for you. Trust Him, talk to Him, and when you are ready, open your eyes. You might be surprised at just how wonderful things can really be. ...........