Traveling the Rock Road

I remember how sick I felt right after the accident, didn’t know if I wanted to cry or cuss. To anyone else it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but to me it left a sick feeling in my stomach as I stared at the devastation. Okay, so what am I making the big deal about, wrecked car, broken picture window, what?!! Something even worse than these; it was an ink blot on one of my favorite pictures! Now that I have you scratching your head let me explain.

Years back as a drummer I was privileged to work with two of the finest musicians I had ever played music with. Not just because of their talents, which were exceptional, but also the chemistry we had between us. We were able to read each other, musically speaking, in such way that we developed a unique sound and blend that I had never experienced with any other combo I worked with. We used to joke that if one of us made a mistake the other two would instinctively catch it and make the same error as if it was meant to be like that. Of all the bands I was ever with this was the one I felt was going to do something special. Unfortunately, like so many other talented musical groups spanning the country, that was not to be the case and after a couple of years we gave up the pursuit of stardom, so to speak, and found ourselves going in different directions musically, occupationally and geographically. But even though we no longer performed together, a special bond of friendship still existed, something that I cherish to this day. On the last night we were together someone took a picture of the three of us that I’ve kept to this day. Now because of clumsiness on my part there was an ink spot about ¼ inch in diameter right in the middle. Every time I looked now it was the first and most prominent thing I saw. If someone else looked at it, it was; “Oh, how’d you get that ugly spot on it?” It became such an aggravation each time I looked at what was once precious to me and how I ruined it, that I put the picture away so I wouldn’t have to look at it anymore.

A few years passed and one day when I was cleaning out a desk drawer I came across the picture again. As soon as I saw that ugly botch I grimaced and started to shove it back in the drawer to hide it once again. But then, I stopped and took a good look at it for the first time since the accident. I began to look past the imperfection at three individuals, three close friends and the items like the clothes they were wearing back then, the length of hair (when all of us could still grow hair), but mostly the smiles and laughter we shared that final time together. As I sat there I began to smile again, just like before the distracting mar. I was no longer seeing it as the main item on the picture; I was finally, once again, seeing the splendor of that captured moment in time.

Leo Tolstoy once said “Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.”

As I ponder this thought it reminded me of picture and the spot. I became so obsessed with the tarnish that I could no longer see the real picture, even though it was still there. The spot didn’t cover or hide the picture; it just drew my attention away from it and in the process stole joy from me. I’ve come to realize that there are many “spots” out there that try to hide the greater picture from us. These spots can be mental as well as physical, like the thought you’re not attractive as someone else, or you’re overweight, perhaps a physical disability, or even just one person out of many who has treated you bad. These are all spots, robbers and thugs that make an attempt to take what God intended for you–joy, happiness, beauty, and even love.

My man Max Lucado says it like this, “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the earth by the Master Craftsman.”

And still, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!

There are many spots, many stumbling blocks in life that attempt to hide that love He has for you. You may not be able to remove it, but you can learn to look past it so that you may see the real picture, one filled with more beauty and joy than perhaps you realized existed.

Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

See Ya Next Time!