The "What If" Game

How many times have you said it yourself? "What if I had not been there that day? How would my life be different now?" Or, put another way, "If only I hadn't been there that day?" What if this had happened? What if that hadn't happened? The "What If" Game.

I believe we all ask "What if" now and then--it's only natural. I know some people, though, who let the What If Game rule their lives. If I had to determine who created the What If Game, I would not look toward Parker Brothers or Milton Bradley. I believe the What If Game is planted in our minds by Satan. If he can make us question the past, he might be able to manipulate our future.

Don't let the What If Game rule your life. Yes, things might have been different if events had happened differently, but there is nothing you can do about them by worrying now. There are a lot of things in my life that I might change if I could, but since I can't I go forward from where I am now. I know now that if I had followed God's leading, I would not have made the mistakes I made in the past.

I will continue to make mistakes. I'm human, so that is a certainty. I will continue to try to live the way God wants me to though, so hopefully there won't be so many. When I do make mistakes, I will turn them over to God, ask His forgiveness, and try to move on without any "What ifs."

Right now, before you forget, put your "What If" Game in the box, and hide it away on the highest shelf, in the deepest corner of your attic, then get on with your life. :)

Thomas is on the Way!

When we got home from working at Vacation Bible School tonight (around 9:30), I found a message on our answering machine from my sister. I had forgotten after the last power outage to reset the clock on the answering machine, but it was somewhere between 6:00 and 9:30. The message was that Nancy is in the hospital getting ready to give birth. WooHoo! I can't wait to meet Thomas!

Time Flies (When it's Not Dragging Along)

Life has been very hectic the last two or three years. So much has gone on. I graduated from high school and started college, got married, and had a baby. I got divorced, went back to college and became a teacher. I moved a few thousand miles from home, became a grandmother, remarried, and lost my mom way too early. A week or so ago Nancy got remarried, and got pregnant for the 3rd time. Thomas is due in a few minutes. Or a few months. Around Father's Day. Okay, okay, so it wasn't two or three years, or a week or so ago. Everything I mentioned happened in the last 34 years. Looking back though, it seems to have all happened so fast.

I have heard that the length of a minute depends on which side of the bathroom door you are standing. An example I have used is that a minute eating an ice cream cone would seem a lot shorter than a minute being hit on the thumb with a hammer. Even just going about our daily business, some days time seems to drag and others it seems to fly by. The year drags by, but when Christmas and New Year's come we wonder where the year went. I still remember when I first noticed that time seemed to be going faster and faster each year. When I was in the ninth grade time seemingly began to speed up, and it has gotten faster each year since.

This reminds me of two quotes. The first was from Kermit the Frog, "Time's fun when you're having flies." I love it! I don't know who said the second one, and it took me a few minutes to get it the first time, but it is, "Time flies like an Arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

On the Road Again

I often wake up with either a song or a saying in my head. Today I woke up with the saying, "On the road to recovery" rattling around in my brain. It got me to thinking about our wanderlust and our longing to travel. Through the ages people have had a fascination with travel. Even people who have never traveled away from home use sayings related to travel.

We have many sayings about "the road," such as the one I have already mentioned. Others I have thought of are, "Take the high road," "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," The road less traveled," and "fork in the road." People even sing about the road. Ray Charles sang, "Hit the Road Jack," and Willie Nelson gave me the title for today's blog, "On the Road Again."

All of this led me to do a search for sayings about "the road," and I discovered a very interesting, and oh so true, quote by Rosalie Graham. She said, "A road twice travelled is never as long." How many times have you driven somewhere and it seemed so far away, yet each time you take that same trip it seems shorter and shorter?

The same idea holds true in our figurative and spiritual travels as well. When we travel down paths we know we should not take, it seems shorter and easier each time. The decision to cheat (in any way) for instance, is often a hard one to make. The more someone cheats, however, the easier it becomes to follow that road.

The good news is that the same holds true of the road we should be taking. The more you do the right things, the easier they become.

When we are headed down the road to destruction, it is good to remember another saying that I have heard many times. God allows U-Turns. So, if you are taking the wrong road, just make a U-Turn and head the right way. And don't forget to check out the scenery!

I'm Still Alive and Kicking!

I feel so horrible that I haven't written in so long. I just haven't seemed to feel a lot of inspiration lately. I do intend to get back to writing soon. Hopefully later today I will have a sudden flash of genius. :) Or at least a small twinkle of inspiration.

Why I Lie More at Church than Anywhere Else

I know a few people who will lie to you at the drop of a hat. Some will lie even when the truth will serve them better. I detest lying, and I really do my best to always tell the truth. I almost always tell the truth. Except, that is, at church. Lately I have been telling lies almost every time I go to church.

It is always the same lie, and that lie is always in response to the same question. What is that question? "How are you today?" The lie? "I'm okay," or "We're okay."

We're really not all that okay right now. So to say we are is a lie.

On the other hand, compared to many people, even though we are at a very low point (no jobs, low on food, owing thousands of dollars), we do have our health (not perfect health, but not bad). We do have food to eat, even if it doesn't include meat and it is a little boring at times. We have a roof over our heads and a comfortable bed. I have a spouse who loves me with all his heart, and he has the same in me.

So is it really a lie to say, "We're okay?" I can't remember the Bible verse or verses, but it says somewhere in the Bible that we are to pray believing. We are to thank God for the answer to our prayers even before He has answered. I firmly believe that. I have total faith that things will turn around for us very soon. I believe God has a plan for us. I hold fast to Jeremiah 29:11: "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 hope and a future."

With this in mind, I don't mind saying we are okay, even though we may not be totally okay. Things are okay in some ways, and they will get better.

We're okay.

My Bud, and Her Little Menagerie

I have a wonderful friend, Christi, who has a great husband, two terrific boys, and two guinea pigs. She and I talked last night, and I had to laugh when she told me of their new family member. They are now the owners of a newly weaned gray kitten named Shadow. She did not seek out to find a kitten, but through circumstances and because of her big heart (that did not want to see the kitten go to the pound), she became a cat owner.

Why did I laugh? I am a cat person. I am also a dog person, and an all-around animal person. Christi, on the other hand, is not, and never has been, a pet person. But because she loves her kids, and because she has a big heart, she has now added a cuddly little kitten to the mix!

I love Christi's big heart!