Make It Count

I work at a Church and several years ago I was walking passed the room where our youth service is held and I heard our youth minister say something that has changed the way I look at every situation I find myself in. He said to the kids “Don’t meditate on the question, “why am I here,’ but rather meditate on the thought that you are here” This young youth minister had a knack for philosophy and that night he was in rare form. I walked away thinking about what he said and as I meditated on his words I was filled with a profound since of responsibility.

You see what he was trying to get those kids to do was not think about something they could not control (the situation they were in) but instead to think on what they could control (what they would do in the situation) Life is not always fair and it doesn’t always go the way we want it to, but it is still to be lived. Many of us find ourselves in situations we did not expect or situation that we didn’t expect to be so difficult. A new job, new relationship, new town…you fill in the blank. In those times many of us spend a large amount of the time trying to figure out how we got there. We retrace our steps, talk to friends or our pastor, we meditate or pray all in the name of trying to figure out how we arrived at this point. All the while life has not stopped and in fact it is passing us by a breakneck speed. During that time of “discovery” or introspection we lose out on the opportunity to truly enjoy our present situation. Let me give you an example:

A very good friend of mine just told me that she was pregnant. Now to most people having a child is an exciting time, but when you have just had one six months prior it can be a little daunting. That’s right my friend is now going to be what the labor and delivery nurses affectionately call… a thirteen-monther. My friend now has a choice to make. Whether she likes it or not this baby is going to come and she can either spend the next nine months crying and wondering why this happened to her or she can stiffen up her lip and decide to “enjoy” creating this life that God has put inside her. Of the two I prefer the latter. The reality is that weather you like it our not you are where you are and for us to spend time hating the situation is a waste. You are in it, so you might as well make it count.

This make it count phrase has become sort of a motto for me in my life. I always desire to make what I am doing count. If I have managed to get my lazy bum out of bed and to the gym I don’t need to stand in front of the weights cursing them, I need to put them to work. I’ve made the effort to be there so I might as well make that time count. I am a parent of a two year old and I have a vision for what I want my son to look like spiritually when he leaves my house. Time is moving fast but I don’t what to sit back and think about all the time I’ve lost, because while I’m doing that I lose the time I have with him right then. I need to make the moments count while I am with him.

I don’t believe that anything is coincidental. I believe that God is always guiding my life. If I truly believe in the divinity and the goodness of God then I have to believe that he has me where I am for a reason. I’ll even take it further than that. I believe that God believes that I am the perfect person for this moment in time and place. He knows my gifts and abilities and in his Eternal plan I play a part right here, right now. This is not my right but a privilege that God chose me for this moment. If I sit and wonder why I am here, I not only miss out on the tremendous blessing that he is preparing for me in this, but I also dishonor and betray his trust in me. Think about that in you own life. Do you believe that God is in control of your life? If so where has he put you? How are you honoring his choice to use you in that situation? He could have used anyone but he is using YOU. So don’t wonder why YOU are here, but rather realize that for some eternal reason God has YOU here and then MAKE IT COUNT!