As I sat there, I had to chuckle to myself about the situation — beats fussing and fuming. It seems that no matter how hard we try to control time, it never works out. No matter how well we try to plan our lives, something comes along to mess up our plans.

Our son, daughter-in-law, grandson and my wife all went to the doctor's office this past week to have a look at the new grandchild our daughter-in-law is carrying. Although everything looked fine and the baby was extremely active, they were not able to tell what gender the baby is. They were all disappointed. They wanted to start decorating the nursery and buying baby things. They had all looked forward to this for the past couple of months with great excitement and anticipation; but, instead, they found themselves sitting at the train tracts, stopped cold.

What about you? What has unexpectedly stopped you? What has derailed your plans or kept things from working like you wanted them to work? What kind of disappointments have you faced?

We all have choices to make!

We all have choices to make, don't we? You can sit there and fuss and fume, or you can shrug your shoulders, chuckle about the ironies of life, and get on with living.

Wouldn't it really be better to focus on what is really important in life! Remember the story of "the rich fool" found in Luke 12. He was the guy that made big plans that didn't take place. He was going to build bigger barns and store up lots of stuff so that he could retire to the good life. Notice Luke 12:20: "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'" (NIV).

Do you know what the message is? Focus on the important things? Whatever plans you have, whatever goals you have in mind, if they don't come to fruition, are they really worth fussing and fuming about? Count your blessings and focus on the really important things in life!

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 NLT)

 

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© 2007 Russ Lawson, Messages from the Heart. All rights reserved.

Title: "Stuck at the Tracks"
Author: Russ Lawson
Publication Date: February 10, 2007

To Live Is Christ: Embracing the Passion of Paul by Beth Moore Tracing Paul's life from childhood to martyrdom, the book looks at how the apostle's life can give readers a renewed sense of purpose in God's plan.

Russ Lawson is a former missionary to Africa and minister in Ohio. He now works with World Christian Literature Outreach and writes a weekly email devotional, Messages from the Heart. For more information about Russ, click here.

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