I'm For You

Last week I was blessed to take 6 of our teens to Six Flags. The trip (for me anyway) was interrupted by a blown tire 10 miles out from the theme park. Thankfully it was a back tire and God's hand of protection was upon us, so I was able to ease the van to the side of the road and off the interstate. Inside I'm thinking "oh brother, of all the things that could happen on this trip...how long is this going to put us back?" What happened next actually somewhat surprised me. Two boys jumped out of the van and went to work changing the tire and replacing it with the spare. They weren't asked. They didn't hesitate. They just went to work and did it all themselves. The four girls were there to give them encouragement and moral support. The whole time not one of them said anything negative or discouraging about the experience. They were just happy to be together and knew they would make it on to Six Flags eventually. That's the kind of spirit I wish all of us could have more regularly. It's easy to become cynical or negative when things in life don't go our way or go differently than we expected. But life is short...so love God. Love Others. Live Different. Those six teenagers reminded me of that simple message in the moment.

I proceeded to drop them off at Six Flags 45 minutes later. But my work wasn't through. I then left for a tire repair place in order to get everything repaired. Three and a half hours later I made it back to the park to join them. I think I got to partake in two rides that day. On one level it was easy to feel frustrated. On another level I was reminded of their positive attitudes and the fact that everyone was safe and accounted for. Even though I missed a lot of the day I did make it for the Tobymac concert in the evening before we left to head home. Music is a big part of who I am. I find myself blessed by it in so many ways all the time. Well God spoke another simple message to me through the words of one of the songs called "I'm For You." I'll leave you to (hopefully) be blessed as well by the heart of the lyrics...

----------------------------------------------------
Tell me where its hurting
Are you burning?
Running just to catch your breath
And going nowhere
It's getting old when you feel like you got nothing left
Well it ain't over 'til it’s over
I told you since the day we met
So let me be the voice through all the noise
Whatever I gotta be
I'll be for you

Whatever you need from me
To see you through
Everyone of us has stumbled
Everybody's humbled
We hit the ground and our lives crumble

Whatever I gotta be
I'll be for you
I'm for you
If you never knew
If you never knew
I'm for you
You know it’s true

I know the feeling
I know it’s real when the drama's all in your face
You see a mountain
I hear a promise – it’s never more than we can take
Well it ain't over, 'til it's over
We can learn from our mistakes
So let me be the voice through all the noise

Everyone of us will fall
Have our backs against the wall
And everyone shares a need to be loved
You’ve always been for me
So I will be for you
That's just what it means to love

Whatever I gotta be
I'll be for you
I'm for you
If you never knew
If you never knew
I'm for you
You know it’s true
(repeat)

Everytime you fall, I'll be for you,
If you back's against the wall, I'll be for you,
Cause you've always been for me, I'll be for you,
I'll be for you, I'm for you.
If you never knew,
If you never knew,
I'm for you.

I'm for you, like your for me, like I'm for you,
I'm for you, like your for me, like your for me, like I'm for you,
I'm for you like your for me, like I'm for you,
I'm for you like your for me, like your for me, like I'm for you,
I'm for you like your for me, like your for me, like I'm for you,

I'm for you.
--------------------------------------

May you be reminded once again of the simple message that in all things, whatever is happening in your life or all around you...God is for you!

--Mike