What should have happened did.

I came across this web site today reminiscing my dancing days and it brought back some fond memories-- http://www.texndixie.com/clubdance.htm This was the place I used to go dancing-- until the show finally was taken off the air after 7 years. I first wanted to learn to dance when I saw the show on TV, and so I watched it close enough to learn the steps. Then when I was 16 years old I went to a local dance place and practiced and eventually learned to dance. Then I met my buddy Jenny (the super-mom about whom I have blogged) at my new job and was telling her about what I was learning; she told me she happened to dance on that show so... I joined it too. I became a regular at Club Dance.

(Jenny)
Oh the good old years... when the stage lighting did not make me sweat (now I go from being freezing cold to being in an instant sweat poking my head in the fridge for relief), the hours of dancing and taping late into the night never affected my ability to get up for school the next day or go to work (now if I do not get a full 9 hours of sleep I am... let's just say not at 100%). The energy of youth is wasted on the young. If only I still had this energy. Oh the things I could accomplish in a day. I look back at the schedule I used to keep and I am instantly reminded about how little time I spent doing what mattered (giving glory to God). Instead, I did everything very selfishly. If I had focused my energy on Him... I hate "ifs" though. (Look at how many "I"s are used in "what ifs".) I once heard in a lesson (I think at church camp) that "what should have happened did". Looking at the past can bring up some regrets for most of us, but if we belong to Jesus it is as if our past is cast into the deepest sea. David said so in Psalms-- Psalm 32:1 (The Message) Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean. Satan will however, try to make us feel guilty over our past. When we sit and regret our past, it is as if we do not trust our Savior or think our past is too big for Him to forgive and we undermine what Jesus says. Paul is the prime example of how completely we are forgiven and the transformation that occurs when we give ourselves to Him. 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This is part of His plan-- to take us from the state of not knowing Him to a complete knowledge of the Truth-- to change and have unlimited patience with us. None of us are born with the Truth (only Jesus-- for this is why He came to earth-- to testify to the Truth.) So with this being stated, we will all have "regrets", but these things should be looked back on not in regret but in wonder at how God is so awesome to change us from what we were into what He meant for us to be. So getting back to "what should have happened did", this phrase makes Jesus sacrifice relevant and meaningful. What should have happened did-- we were once ruled by deception and then Jesus came and told us the truth and turned the light on. Darkness will never overcome the light. Think about being in a darkened cave, the smallest amount of light even far away causes everyone to see. As big as the darkness is, that small amount of light is more powerful. If we were born in the state God meant for us to be we would have never need Jesus... so look back on the sinful past with pride in Jesus and what He did to change us. We should not live in shame of what we once were hiding our past sins, but instead claim the change and be so bold as to share our testimony with those not yet changed by the Truth. Who knows... or should I say God knows that our testimony may bring others to Him, turn on that tiny amount of light in a dark cave... (plus if we look back with focus on what He did in our transformation we no longer put the emphasis on I but on Him.)