Sunrises, Sunsets, and Rearview Mirrors

I love the morning. I love everything about it. Yes, I am one of those people.

One of morning's most redeeming qualities in my opinion is the sunrise. Sometimes in college, I would wake up before the sun, and drive to Lake Overhulser (anyone who lives in Oklahoma City probably knows this wasn't the wisest decision) and would park, wait, and watch. Lake Hefner would have been a better option, given Lake O's distinctive odor and homeless population. However, there was not a great east facing lake overlook at Hefner, at least not one I could successfully navigate to alone. For those 30 minutes, as the sun started to rise, my world stopped, and everything was perfect.

On the way to work last week, the timing was nearly perfect to catch the sunrise each morning. As I would begin my drive I would have a perfect picture right in front of me. Everything inside of me wanted to stop my car, get out, and take a picture. Typical right? However, 7:30 am traffic turns out to not be the best place to pull over to the side of the road, given the overall risk factor and the looming stares one would receive (stares from anyone are in themselves enough to produce a nightmare in my opinion). So, reluctantly, I drove on and made my turn onto the highway.

For a moment I was sad the sunrise was no longer in my view. However, something caught my eye. It was my rearview mirror. The beautiful picture that was once in front of me was now visible in my mirror as I drove away.

As I drove, I started to think there was much less beauty in the direction I was facing. The east was bright and hopeful, but the direction I was driving seemed bleak in comparison. All I had left was a rearview mirror image, which in reality I shouldn't have been staring at instead of the road in front of me.

Nevertheless, this got me thinking. While I absolutely love the beauty held in the eastern sunrise, the west holds something completely different. The sunset appears at a different time but is more than often just as or more beautiful than the sunrise the sky held the morning before.

My view was all in my perspective and in patience. I could look in my rearview mirror and be reminded of the beauty behind me, but continue to look forward knowing what would eventually appear in the direction I was facing.

Often, we do the same thing in life. We experience a moment that takes our breath away, makes us want to stop and take a snapshot, and then we watch it drift away in our rearview. The moment slips into the past, but often we can't stop staring back convinced that there couldn't possibly be anything of equal or greater value ahead of us in the future.

We don't have enough faith and don't believe in the hope that God has promised to lay out in front of us. We hold on to past good, grovel in our present, and assume there is nothing on the road ahead.

Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future."

Promises are one of my favorite things in Scripture. This may be one of the most quoted and most overlooked promises in the Bible. Whether you have graduated from kindergarten or from a doctorate program, this was probably inscribed on one (or ten) greeting cards you received (right next to your "Oh the Places You Will Go" sentiments from Dr. Seuss).

We read this verse. We quote it. We use it to encourage others.

But do we really live like we believe it ourselves?

God promises that he has plans for us. Not only does he have a plan. He promises hope for our future. Here God ensures that there is good ahead, not just behind. That doesn't mean we shouldn't count and continue to thank the Lord for our past blessings. However, when these come to our sight in our rearview, we shouldn't stare so long that we forget there is a long stretch of road in front of us, a life to live, and rays of hope promised from the Lord waiting for those who are patient ahead.

I am thankful that God chose to not only give us a sunrise, but also a sunset. There is beauty both in front of and behind us each and every day. We have memories and rearview mirrors to remind us of the blessings we have already received, but we can confidently move forward to the vast future in front of us knowing there are countless sunsets and immeasurable hope to behold on the road ahead.

Turn around when possible.

A couple of weeks ago, I moved about four miles from where I used to live. I have driven to my job every day for the past year and know exactly where it is on a map. I know how to get there…from my old house.

On Monday, I got into my car, turned up my Frank Sinatra Pandora station, and headed toward the highway. I saw a sign to get on going south and confidently pulled into that lane. I got on the highway and drove for about 2 miles, and then it hit me. Downtown is north of where I live. I was driving south. What’s even worse is that I had pulled up directions on my phone before I left for work. I just didn’t pay enough attention to them.

If you have ever ridden in the car with me, you will know this is a regular occurrence. When you get into my car, not only are you a passenger, but you have stepped into the role of sole navigator. I will most likely ask you which way to turn at every intersection until we reach our destination. If I try to make a turn on my own without asking you, assume I am wrong and correct me. If you didn’t know your responsibility before,  you do now. If you can’t handle it, you might want to hitch a ride elsewhere or accept that we will have to turn around at least 2 times per destination.

Thank goodness for iPhone maps. Without them, I would never get anywhere, at least not in a timely manner. Before my iPhone, I relied solely on my Tom-Tom. He (yes, he) wasn’t as forgiving as my iPhone. Every time I took a wrong turn, the screen began to flash, and Tom (in his British voice) would frantically tell me, “Turn around when possible” over and over again until I corrected my mistake. Tom needed to learn a lesson on patience, and I apparently needed to learn one on city mapping. 

Many of you I’m sure would assume that it is possible for anyone to pick up a sense of direction over time. I don’t like to point fingers, but I’m going to do it anyways. You are wrong. I have an innate ability to get lost and I am reminded of it on a daily basis.

Don’t we all though? Each of us on our own is prone to getting lost and making the wrong turns at life’s intersections.

Isaiah 64:6 "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind."

Each of us is born with a sin nature. We have an innate ability to get lost. 

Isaiah 53:6 "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."

Galatians 5:19-21  "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God."

That’s quite a list. When I stop and look at it though, I would be lying to say I have not seen something on that list evidenced it my life. We are all guilty and succumb to making wrong choices and wrong turns.

The good news is we don’t have to remain lost in our transgressions. We are provided a way out.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Through following Christ in faith, not only are we saved, but we are given the ultimate navigator to walk through life with us. This navigator gives us countless tools to help us make the right turns when life’s directions become a little bit fuzzy: The Holy Spirit, Scripture, prayer, mentors, and a body of believers to name a few.

However, even with directions clearly laid out in front of us and a navigator consistently in our passenger seat, too often, we still turn the wrong way. We head south knowing that the correct destination is north.

Have you ever knowingly gone a different direction than you know God had intended for you? If you have, you probably have heard a still small voice saying, “Turn around when possible.” This voice isn’t always audible. It’s forgiving, subtle, and patient.

Sometimes we choose to turn down the volume or ignore it completely and continue on our way. However, like on my gps, the warning signal will not disappear and the correct path will not be shown until I choose to follow the roadmap in front of me.

Are you following the roadmap placed in front of you, or are you succumbing to your innate ability to get lost? We are given the tools, and we have the map. We just have to heed what they say.

Even though I make wrong turns both physically and spiritually, I always have the opportunity to turn around.

I am thankful today for grace, and I am thankful for that still, small voice. Also, I am thankful I don’t hear God’s voice in an angry British accent.

“Turn around when possible.” The abounding grace and joy found only in the Lord is waiting in the path he has provided for you.

Change

As many of you may well know, Fall is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. The colors, the smells, the crisp air, boots, sweaters, warm drinks.  The list could go on and on.

I think one of the main things I love about this season is the undeniable change. Summers heat drags on and on (sorry to all you summer lovers) until one day, there is an unmistakable change in the air. I can taste it. I can smell it. I can feel it in the depths of my heart.

Leaves change from green (or brown here in Oklahoma) to beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. I can’t help but stop and stare. I long for the day each year I get to go on a walk and walk through a pile of fallen leaves.  I would give a limb for a pumpkin spice latte (ok maybe not, but I would give a lot).

I swoon over fall. I love the change.

Over the past few weeks, along with the change in the air, I’ve been thinking about the changes in my life.

Despite loving change in choice of latte flavors at Starbucks, when it comes to my life, I typically loathe change. Change usually involves decisions, which I loathe even more. I’ll save that for another day.

This week marked one year I have lived in Tulsa. 365 days. Looking back, I can’t believe how much my life has changed in the past year. A year ago I knew one person in Tulsa. I didn’t know how to get anywhere. And I was terrified I made the wrong decision to move.

I changed homes, roommates, cities, and jobs. Can you say change overload?

Not much about my life is the same as it was a year ago. Twelve months ago, I would have told you that was a bad thing. However, as it turns out, my heart has changed as well.

Along with the inevitable change, I made the choice to adapt. I learned more about myself than I thought was possible and saw sides of myself that were hard to face. I learned to grow, and more importantly how to trust in the Lord when it seemed I had nothing else. Funny how easy it is to trust in God when you have a constant physical support system around you, isn’t it?

I saw God answer so many prayers this past year, not in my timing or with the answers I was looking for, but with the perfect touch of His hand.

The last Sunday before I moved in my Sunday school class, I remember asking my class to pray I would make friends in Tulsa. This probably seemed like a silly prayer request to my friends in OKC, but this was something I was terrified of. I was leaving the best friends I had ever had and had been surrounded by for 5 years.

A few weeks ago, I was looking back in a prayer journal and saw I had written this down. When I read it, I couldn’t help but smile. The Lord is faithful. Over the past year, God has brought so many incredible people into my life. Amazing friends, accountability, and an amazing church family. I am surrounded by people I look up to, respect, trust, can laugh with, and learn from each and every day. He answered my little prayer in a bigger way than I could have imagined and in a way I by no measure deserve. Did this answer come the first day I moved? No.

However, as always, God's timing is impeccable and perfect. I learned to step out of my box, I learned to be patient, and I learned to rest in the Lord’s presence. Friends are only one of countless blessings and answers to prayers I have seen over the past year.

Despite the change that has occurred in my life over the past year, I have learned that some things never change.

·      I don’t deserve any of the blessings the Lord has provided me with. I never will. I am inadequate when I try to stand on my own two feet. By grace I live.  By grace I breathe. By grace I am saved.

·      God is always present. He is the ultimate comforter,

·      There is always room to grow, spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

·      Prayer is essential and fruitful. I believe with my whole heart that God wants to show us how big He is, but He wants us to ask.

·      God’s plan for my life is bigger than anything I can understand. We are all a part of a bigger story, and we are called to live moment by moment trusting that God has our best for His good in mind.

Last but not least, I learned that there will always be change. Good or bad, expected or unexpected, change happens every day. Without change there would be no growth. Without growth, we would never step out of our box. And without stepping out of our box, we might miss out on the opportunities God places in front of us every day to share his love with the world around us.

I welcome change. A good latte and an autumn walk warm my heart. More importantly, the joy that comes from reflecting on blessings from the Lord is immeasurable. Change is good. The vastness of love and compassion the Lord has for each of us on His journey is unfathomable.