Traveling the Rock Road

Back when I used to give music lessons, I taught one boy whose mother was as sweet as apple pie. Often when she dropped him off for lessons she’d bring me a plate of cookies or something she had spent the day baking. She was one of those that made you wonder if she was born with a permanent smile on her face. Always a delight to see her coming; now the dad, well that was another story. He’d come in a huff, a snarl on his face with words generally along the line of, “Don’t go over on his lesson, I have things that need to get done when this is over!” Okay, gotcha! The few times I tried to make friendly conversation with him, he’d be very short in his words, never making eye contact and leaving as quickly as he could. One afternoon when the mom came, we got on the subject of her husband.  I wanted to know if I had done something to offend him. Sending her son to the car she began to tell me his story. “My husband has always had insecurities from not knowing his father. He got made fun of a lot as boy for not having a dad and that made him hard. He’s good to me and our son, but just can’t trust others enough to let them get close.”

I listened intently feeling as if someone was telling my own story. I also never knew my father plus felt the confusion, embarrassment ridicule and yes, anger brought by a few small-minded individuals. Since I was able to relate to her husband’s anguish, I asked if she’d like me to talk to him. Fearing he would feel betrayed by her, she declined my offer. A couple months later their son stopped taking lessons and I never heard from them again. A year or so later I learned the father died; that’s all I prefer to say on the subject.

Had I dwelled on the bad, the short comings in my life such as not knowing my father. Had I listened to the negatives that seemed at times to bombard me, or allowed my failures (and I’ve had plenty) to dictate who I am; I dare not think about where I might be today. Without a doubt there were times I didn’t believe I’d ever amount to anything because of my past. But if I’ve learned anything about God’s love for me, it’s that those failures and shortcomings don’t mean a thing to Him; He loves me just the way I am and is willing to make me better. As Lucado puts it, “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” Nobody in the history of mankind could relate to being misjudged, ridiculed, betrayed and even unjustly tortured and killed like Jesus; and through it all His love for us remained the same.

This problem is self-identity can hold any of us back if we buy into the bad. But the truth is often those problems prepare us for something better, perhaps something you can share with others to help them see who they really are; I’ve witnessed it in the lives of ones that have spurred me on to believe I’m better than I reason.

Again, God sees and know us.  Here are some examples: 1 John 5:4 “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”  John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” 1 John 3:2 “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the NEW is here!

“Travelers of the Rock Road,” start seeing yourself as God sees you; someone special and incredibly unique because there is no one else like you with your experience and talents; you are beyond “Awesome!”

I’ll leave you today with more words from Max Lucado, for this is where it really starts anyway.  “You change your life by changing your Heart.”

See ya next time.