“Though None Go With Me” — it’s a movie I’m sure none of you have heard of (thought I’ve been wrong before). It is the story of a woman in the 1950’s (?) whose aim it is to “get out” of the small town she has returned to upon graduating from college to see the world. I’d forgotten how much this story could bring me to my knees.
My life (in not so subtle ways) feels so much like “Elizabeth’s” and yet that would be just scratching the surface of the lessons I’ve been taught. I’ve watched this show at least 3 times and again by the time it was over I was subconsciously “SMH” (shaking my head). I’ve been watching and witnessing the news headlines and all the is happening EVERYwhere around the globe. In doing so, my heart has felt completely overwhelmed. That is the lamest excuse but about all I have to offer.
So after the movie finished I pulled myself outside and spent an hour drying my tears working in the yard (cutting back tress and bushes) filling up my trash can and getting rid of all the dead branches, leaves and stems taking up space. Hoping to escape my destiny….when I realized – of course – that I can’t.
I can’t out run God
I can’t escape God
I can’t hide from God
I can’t think, breathe, eat or sleep without God being there.
And for that part I am grateful. I am grateful that for all my shortcomings, ugly habits, sins, warts and all…He will not and does not forsake me. He doesn’t leave me alone.
Several years ago…..He put me through a test. A test to see if I’d be willing to acknowledge Him and follow the path He’d planned. The fiery test lasted about 7 months (gotta love that #7).
The shock waves from that test c0ntinue to ripple through me each day. A reminder that I am His Child, protected and covered by his promise through repentance
Yeah, some of you who are reading might know what repentance is…and for those that do, you might even scoff at the concept.
Other’s may have never heard of it….SO: while repentance is asking God to forgive you of your sins it goes much deeper:
To repent is to adopt God’s viewpoint in place of your own…In itself, far from being sorrowful, it is the most joyful thing in the world, because when you have done it you have adopted the viewpoint of truth itself and you are in fellowship with God. (I can’t remember where I found this quote but it is fitting)
Part of my “fellow-shipping” with God has been “watching” what has been happening the world over – think about some of the headlines
Blood Moon(s)
Solar Eclipses
Earthquakes
Floods
Missing Planes
Mudslides
Sinking vessels
Tornadoes
And the list goes on….
How can anyone think that the things that are happening are normal?
Tornadoes (no matter how small) are freakishly happening in California
Earthquakes are happening in Oklahoma
A plane is still missing from Malaysia
A mudslide in Washington State
Another mudslide in Afghanistan
Call it coincidence if you wish…but I tend to want to think of these as Wake-Up calls. There are some seriously strange things happening everywhere. No one has answers…although everyone wants to give excuses or theorize. That’s easy, but it’s not easy for those that are left behind in the wake of these disasters, trials, events.
What if this was the last blog post you ever got to read? What if any of the above events actually unfolded in your neighborhood and consumed your home, your family…you?
If you don’t make it out alive – do you know FOR SURE where you are going to end up?
My mother-in-law used to say often enough that she knew where she was going when she died. She said she’d be going “straight to h-ll.”
I wish I was kidding. I am not.
The day she died, she was going into surgery. She was obviously a bit nervous (if not scared) and asked, “Am I gonna die?”
I’m told the nurse responded, “oh, no…you’re going t0 be fine. Don’t let that thought cross your mind.”
But it should have! And if I had been there instead, do you know what I would have asked her?
“Do you know who Jesus is? and “Are you right with God?”
Get right with God….whether or not these are the last days – we all have numbered days here on earth. Spend your days wisely…
The theme of the movie “Though None go With Me” is based on a hymn derived from John 21:20-22:
Though None Go with Me
Still I will follow
No turning back, no turning back.
It’s time to stop running…what we’re looking for has been waiting for us all along. Are you ready?
God is calling you, he’s been waiting on you….so just say YES!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I’m tired of running. If you are ready to have me and make me yours…then take me for what I am and turn my life around. I repent of my sins, both seen and unseen. I can’t do this alone. Help me find you and keep me close, protect and cover me, forever more. Amen
-Kenzel
Shining a light in the darkness 