IMAGINE

I always enjoy imagining life being different than it really is. To be able to play that old game of “what if.”

Some people don’t enjoy that option. They feel that kind of exercise leads to regret. Perhaps they are right.

Why do I feel inclined to play that game? Because as I reflect with the help of God’s spirit I like to thing it gives me a chance to see how my life might have been different if I listened to him more often. It might seem futile to some, but it is inspiring to me.

That is Mmainly because in the reflecting I apply it to the now. And when life becomes to burden with a sense of emptiness, it gives me a sense of joy to think the future could be a time for improvement and change.

Does that mean it will happen? No. Still there are times it does and that is a chance to rejoice.

I’ve seen so many who reach some zenith in their lives and slowly begin to vegetate. They somewhere decided to stop chasing their dreams, they stop literally hoping. Instead they slowly die in their soul as the scriptures declare when it says, “without a vision, the people perish.”

I’m not suggesting that dreaming is better than facing reality. What I am saying is that without some point to trust God, if one is a follower of Christ the very passion for life can ebb if not die completely.

A person can live for years in such a condition, but it doesn’t mean they will be content in the least. And so often I’ve seen that vacant, desperate look in their eyes. The one that is where they are restraining their real feelings like trying to keep from admitting to some deep abiding pain.

Some prevail in that kind of denial for a very long time. It is sad because they never let God fill that void. There is no expectancy of tomorrow ever improving. It is to me a form of suicide for the soul that one allows to simply wither rather than breathe.

Another aspect of this resides in the fact that through such efforts one also discovers that God will at times open the doorways to visions of one’s eternal destiny. We can see the spiritual forecast of out we will dwell in a greater essence when in the presence of the Lord.

That can carry one through the valleys and give warmth when surrounded only by a sense of cold where others lack that experiencing. For many often do not avail themselves of that type of blessing. It is one that we must reach for in faith and the devil will surely do what he can to keep us thinking it is a silly pursuit. If we listen with our heart and not our mind we will know the truth. May we all find the means to savor that joy and discover it on journeys where others fail to travel.