Turning Right

 

I saw it blink, out of the corner of my eye, what was wrong with my vehicle now? Looking down at the dash I noticed it was just my right turn signal flashing out its’ repetitious warning. How long had it been blinking? I had been going straight for a long time, why was the turn signal blinking right? Had I bumped the turn signal lever by mistake? Maybe it just didn’t cancel after my last right turn. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a sign, a nudge.

Just up ahead on the right was that road that had caught my attention on several occasions, almost as if it was calling out to me. I had often thought about exploring that road, but it was a little out of the way and there was always a reason to hurry home. Could this be some exciting adventure, it was an intriguing idea. I had prayed for direction, for guidance, for a leading.  Could it be a sign, a sign leading me back to those promptings to explore the road on the right? If I turned right would it be something of significance or just a waste of time? But then, what would it cost me to find out, a few moments of my time.  Perhaps this could be some significant new point in my life, an adventure, a leading.

All I know is that, tonight, I’m turning right.

The Power of Testimony ( What’s your story? )

Pastor Tim Mauch at Hess Street Mission – Sunday November 18, 2012

The Answer

Hidden among the voices, is the answer to my prayer.

But like the wind around me, I ‘m not really sure.

I believe there is a purpose, a reason for my life.

Someday I’m sure I’ll know it, at least I hope I’m right.

I’ve got a plan, a book to write, some people I should see.

 I think I’ll sit,  and rest awhile, and see what’s on T.V..

I feel a gentle tugging, at my heart as I sit here.

There’s a business opportunity, a mission to explore,

an old broken relationship ready to restore.

Hidden among the voices is the answer to my prayer,

but like the wind around me, it is easy to ignore.

Still Dreaming

Many of us have dreams that are unfulfilled, visions that are unrealized. Not that we planned it that way. It’s just that life got in the way.

In the idealism of our youth we envisioned changing the world. We were going to make a difference. We had this music within us waiting to be expressed. We were going to write that great novel opening the minds and hearts of everyone to the possibilities that existed. Our social agenda was going to usher in a new era of hope and equality. Our entrepreneurial skills and ideas were going to be the bench mark for modern business and industry.  But it didn’t happen.

It wasn’t that the ideas weren’t good enough or that we didn’t have the skills and abilities. It’s just that talking about it and dreaming about it aren’t enough. Sooner or later you have to launch out on that unpredictable and intangible journey of believing. To watch the dreams be born into reality and see them unfold before our eyes. To let go of the “for sure” and to stand with the intangible, the “what if” and believe. To believe in the vision and the source of the vision, He who knows all and has our best interest at heart.

For many of us, however, the importance of our dream was lost in a sea of things that demanded our attention, our time, our effort. Not later, but now! And the vision lay abandoned and neglected. Replaced by grocery shopping and alarm clocks. And so the vision was relegated to next week, next month, next year. Pushed off to some more convenient, more prosperous time down the road called, “never”. Oh, we didn’t call it that. We called it amusing things like, “after we’re established” , “after we raise the kids” , “when things get easier” and “when we retire”. Smoke screens for “phoney baloney” believing, designed to numb the memory of a path not travelled, an adventure not lived.

And yet, it isn’t too late! There is a calling, faint, as if off in the distance. Gently wooing us back to that which we were created for. To live out that dream. To really live not just exist. To create with the Creator and to believe that He has called us to something extraordinary. A life of dreams and passion and excitement. The abundant life.