Behind the Scenes

Scenario A: If you have ever been to a play or worked on a play or any performance, you know there are a lot of things that go on “behind the scenes.” There are sometimes double the people you see out front scurrying around in the back getting things where they need to be and taking care of technical things. The “scene” might look amazing and the “stars” may as well, but the real stars are everyone who worked together to make it happen, not just the people out front.

Scenario B: You surely have seen someone who created a picture perfect world either in real life or on social media. The posts are all coordinated and perfect and everyone looks darling but what it really took to get to that was some ugliness. The “behind the scene” is the sad reality. And the drive to present something completely different overtakes their life.

Scenario C: Maybe you have heard the fictional story about the person who talks to God about what a disaster their life is. They are comparing it to the “backside” of something like an embroidery project that is not designed to be viewed from that angle. And God reassures them that He sees their life from the top side. They are only seeing their life from “behind the scenes” with an awareness of the difficulties when He looks at all and what He is doing to bring it together to be something beautiful.

We all have things going on “behind the scenes”. Some of it is good, some of it is bad, some of it is neutral. Being a real person doesn’t necessarily mean you show every person every wart you have. But having a few people in your life where you can be real is really important.

God knows our hearts and longs for us to express our fears, failures, excitement, disappointments — all of it. There are trustworthy people out there to share with, too. When we are vulnerable and share the difficulties of our days with others, it helps them see our humanity and invites them to share theirs as well.

There are times we may have to “take the stage” and act as if things aren’t difficult, depending on the situation. But let’s not let that be the general way we are. Then reality gets confusing for everyone!

Psalm 139 is such a great place to start for real, honest conversation with God. He loves you and wants you to bring it all to him: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He is sure to work in and through us with it all to make something beautiful.

Success vs Failure

Why are so hard on ourselves?

Of course, there is always room for improvement. But something doesn’t have to actually be “perfect” to be a success. For me it takes work not to pick apart how something could have been better and just be thankful that it was good, even if it wasn’t perfect.

Why is it that our failures (real or perceived) are like flashing neon signs – always trying to grab our attention?

Maybe it is a good way to keep me humble. Typically things aren’t all good or all bad, I can look at things on a 1-10 scale. And even if it was a miserable experience, there is usually something I learned and, in that case, there was something redeemable about it.

What about when we do “everything right” and things still go awfully wrong. Are we really in as much control as we think? Everything hinges on something and not everything is in our power. We don’t have control over others. We only have control over our actions and responses. And even when we do things perfectly, there is no guarantee the outcome will be what we were hoping for.

Are there some days just getting out of bed and facing the day is an achievement?

I think so.

Success and failure are in the eyes of the beholder. What the world pushes us towards and what God is nurturing in our hearts are likely very different things. Who do you listen to when you are evaluating success?

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. [Psalm 73:26, NIV]

May you view your activity with through God’s eyes!

Liz

PrayerPrompt: FLUCTUATIONS

Tools

Do you have projects in mind and the tools to accomplish them but never get around to the project? My guess is that project never really moved up high enough on the priority list because even if we don’t have the right tools, we can figure out how to get a job done.

Of course, life happens and things we hadn’t even imagined can propel up the priority list in the blink of an eye. Life and circumstances are always changing and something that actually may be a priority gets pushed aside until “later” but sometimes later doesn’t come. We don’t always get to do the things we want to do.

I have come to believe that having the tools isn’t the key. Using the tools is the key. We all know of the guy who has all the big, cool tools. At first glance, you might even be envious. But if he has no time to use them, then it just seems sad. What is the point of having “all the stuff” if you can’t enjoy it?

I will admit, in certain areas of my life

(A): I have the tools;

(B): I have the knowledge of how to use them;

(C): But, I don’t have the gumption/time/energy/ability/___________ to use them, therefore

(D): I don’t have the results I want!

Owning the tools is not enough. Having the knowledge is not enough. Making the effort, etc. is not enough. It seems like there is a need for all three to even work towards the goal and even then there is no guarantee the project will be successful!

Feeling like you can’t move forward because you don’t have the tools?
Stuck in some phase of a project?
Suspect you don’t know enough to move forward?
Lack the time or motivation to tackle the situation?

Let’s not blame it on the tools.

If you are feeling stuck in a place where you don’t have “progress”, think about why that is. Pray about what might be holding you back — it may be that this area you think is “progress” isn’t a good idea.

Sometimes our priorities have changed.

Sometimes our life direction has changed.

Sometimes it is fear of failure.

Sometimes the goal is outside our ability and so it hurts our brain to even think about tackling the job.

By taking an honest look at our priorities and our abilities we can re-evaluate them. Still stuck? Have a conversation with a trusted friend, counselor, or pastor.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. [Romans 12:3-8, NIV]

God’s peace as you prioritize!

Liz

PrayerPrompt: COMPLAINING