Make-up Act III: One Week Later

Well, last week at this time I was at the Grind getting a turtle frap and a bagel with cream cheese.

This week, I am sitting in my room in possibly one of the worst outfits I have ever donned, and contemplating all the things God has taught me over the last few weeks.

There are a few things I hinted to in my last entry, but there are so many more things that I learned!

One lesson I'll share was one that came somewhere part way through the Saturday night performance. "There are no small parts, just small people who play them." How often have I heard that (or a variation of that) phrase? Sure, I understood it. Everyone in a play is necessary. But it wasn't until I watched Papa that I realized exactely how true that was. One of the scenes towards the end got me thinking about that. I pondered it for a while, and then I started to wonder if that saying could apply to real life. Sure enough! It could.

After thinking it over, I realized that some of the people that have had the biggest impact on my life are not the ones that I have known my whole life. Often times they are the ones that I only knew for a few short years. From that I thought about how many people's lives I've touched. Then I realized I could have had a big impact on someone's life and not even realized it. Then I wondered whether it was for good or ill.

Once again, I was reminded to walk uprightly. All the world's a stage. That means everyone is always watching. This means whether I'm playing sister, roomie, friend, whatever; someone is watching me. Now, of course God is always watching, but He knows exactely how I am anyway. I mean people. People know you by how you act and what you say. This reminder caused me to review this. *sigh* Room for improvement!

Another lesson I learned is one about God's timing. May I say, it is excellent!

The whole time leading up to last week I kept thinking, "How in the world am I going to work this out?!" Well, God kept telling me He was going to help me, and as the days progressed, I saw Him move tests, quizzes, homework... you name it. Suddenly, I had nothing much happening that week. So that stress was gone.

Another thing I think I learned/relearned/shall always be learning is that the further I get down the path, the further I have to go. This sounds almost discouraging, but when I look back on the road I've traveled down, and see how far I've come, I take heart and go forward.

Again, I am taken back to a couple of summers ago. My family and I went to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan, and when we got there, I decided to climb them all the way to Lake Michigan. I was told roughly how long it should take me to get there, but it meant very little to me, so I went forward. At the top of the second sand dune that I climbed, I saw Lake Michigan and thought, "Woohoo! It's not so far away after all!" and continued on. After 45 minutes of climbing, seeing the Lake draw no nearer, and decending, I began to think about turning back. But no, I had come that far, and surely it was not much further away! So I kept climbing. Half way there, or so, I started singing "I've Got a Mansion Just Over the Hill-top." It was occuring to me that yes, Heaven is just one "hill-top" away, but God never said which hill it was.

Well, after an hour and forty-five minute climb, I at last topped this small little bump of a sand dune, and there it was: Lake Michigan. Exhausted and hot, I ran down to the Lake as fast as I could, splashed in up to my knees, and started drinking. No water has tasted sweeter!

The really odd part about that whole walk was that the Lake never seemed to draw any closer, nor get any farther away. In so many ways, that's how Heaven seems. I never seem to be any closer to reaching it, nor any further away from it. Yet, I can look back and see how far I can come, and know that there is less distance to go. But looking forward doesn't tell you how far away it is. There's always a hill blocking the view. Just like walking the sand dunes.

I learned that again this week. I saw how far I've come in such a short time, but I'm realizing more and more that it's a long road before me. At times it seems to grow longer, but I know it's just an illusion. It's not longer, just new hills are coming into focus.

This (though you may not see it) goes back to the whole comment on God's excellent timing. Before last week I came a long way in a short time, and just in time.

Anyway! I've been rambling and rabbit trailing. In a nutshell- I'm learning a lot, I'm growing quite a bit, and I'm patiently waiting to see where God is going with all this. Right now, I have no idea what God's will is for my life beyond what is happening this very minute.

Exciting stuff!
-Frank

BTW, that is a picture of an actual rabbit trail. Isn't that spiffy?!