A few weeks ago, I began to
contemplate a series of blogs I would write to highlight my upcoming 45th
birthday. I was going to submit several
blogs that would have concepts that are particularly relevant to me, almost
like mini-blogs, if you will. They would
start with the letter A, and I would go all the way to the letter Z. To clarify, I am going to begin presenting
said 'mini-blogs' in just a second.
However, because my life is what it is, the 'A to Z, several blogs
leading to my birthday thing' is probably too ambitious (I think I joked last time that I
only manage to produce one blog a month!); therefore, I will likely only make it from A to
F. Even so, I’m pleased to do so.
A: Adventure. The first concept
is adventure. Interestingly, today as I
was putting the final touches on this content I was chatting with my mother
about this very idea. My life is a
wonderful adventure, filled with turbulence, but that is OK. Why? Because God is in complete control of it all. Rebecca St. James once put it better than I
ever could; “Adventure. Just that word
puts a sparkle in our eyes, a big smile on a face, I know it does for me…some
people who don’t understand Christianity think that the Christian life has to
be boring…but I believe the Christian life is the most incredible adventure. Because think about it: our future is in
God’s hands.”
B: Blessing of family. Each of
these could be a full blog, and I could definitely go on and on with this
one. Cary A. Friedman wrote a great
little book called “Wisdom from the
Batcave”. In a chapter called “The blessing of family”, Friedman
writes, “It is a sad reality that few of us appreciate our blessings until they
disappear.” Then later on, he states,
“Blessings that go unrecognized go unappreciated.” With the passing of my father, I have seen
firsthand that a day with a loved one is a gift to enjoy, and never take for
granted.
C: Church leaders. To this very
day, God has guided my family and I to sit under truth from solid men of God –
shout out to my current pastor, Pastor Kyle!
But I want to bring up pastor Rick Ferguson. A man of God who God used tremendously in my
family’s life, and lots of others as well.
He unexpectedly passed away in 2002 at the age of 46. In his
last sermon, Rick said just four words explained the entire Christian life;
those words are these: “Not I, but Christ.” I echo that.
If anything noble or praiseworthy comes from my life, I assure you it’s
not because of me; it’s because of God and His transforming grace in my life.
D: Dreams. I recently heard a
tremendous talk by Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick. God has used him to make such incredible films
as “Facing the Giants”, “Fireproof”, and “Overcomer”. He made this
statement: “Dying to something is so good for you. Because sometimes God allows your dream to
die so He can resurrect it His way…He’s good at resurrecting things; that’s
what He did as we went into the movie ministry.” Candidly, I have dreams. To die to them is acutely painful, obviously. But I trust God to do with them as He sees
fit.
E: Example. Tobey Maguire’s
Spider-Man has inspired me since 2002 when I saw part 1 of the trilogy, and he
continues to do so even to this very day.
In 2004’s “Spider-Man 2” Peter
is ready to give up his superhero duties, tossing his Spidey suit in a dumpster. Enter Aunt May. May gives Peter a beautiful speech on heroism. She says heroes like Spider-Man are
“courageous, self-sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us.” Her words encourage Peter to take up the
fight again, no matter how difficult. Fascinatingly,
some suggest that Aunt May actually knew Peter was Spider-Man. Maybe, maybe not, but if that’s true, it adds
even more emotional weight to their conversation.
F: Faith over fear. Having been
through various storms, I have learned firsthand that it is very easy to
succumb to fear. To clarify, there is legitimate fear, such as choosing not to
touch a hot stovetop out of fear of being burned; however, there is also crippling fear. This is where we are bombarded with “what
ifs” and the worst-case scenario. 2
Timothy 1:7 has become a verse of comfort and strength to me; it states, “God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.”
God bless,
Kevin
