Be Careful what you wish for!!!

I was talking on Facebook to one of my oldest … no wait, it’s not that she’s old.  And she is definitely not the oldest friend I have.  But she has been a friend since we were both little kids growing up at Washington Avenue Baptist Church in Greenville.

Anyway, Joy Crenshaw Branon and I were talking on Facebook a little while ago and she reminded me that she remembers when I was a little kid in Sunday School and proudly announced to the whole class “When I grow up, I’m gonna be a preacher!”

In the last couple of months, there have been times when I’ve thought “If I could only go back in time and tell that little kid, ‘Hey Nucklehead!  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!!'”  (And I would sneak some $$ back and invest it ALL in Apple)

Hey, kid … you have NO IDEA what you are asking for:

• Sleepless nights
• Times when you feel God is your ONLY ally
• Late night phone calls
• Vacations you will have to leave your family to do your job
• Times when you can do nothing right, no matter which way you move
• Stress
• Heartache
• This list could go on and on ….

I was thinking about that the other day, and then it hit me …  There would also be times of:

• Seeing God at work FIRSTHAND and seeing Him do things that you wouldn’t believe unless you saw it firsthand
• Getting to spend some of the happiest moments with your extended family (mine is EBC) and see babies born, celebrate great victories in life, help marriages get started on the right foot
• Having the opportunity to help young Christians grow and getting the most awesome reward of seeing them blossom in God and follow Him with great faith!!!
• Being entrusted with the privilege to help families in their times of greatest need
• Being loved by your church
• And, again, seeing the miracles of God from a front-row seat

The Holy Spirit Himself reminds me that I am one of the most fortunate men in Florence, SC, because I get to be the point man for My Savior in my family that is Ebenezer.  And when I think about all of that, I would tell that kid to trust in the Lord with all of his little heart, and to lean not on his own understanding.  In everything he does, acknowledge God and follow Him, and God Himself will pave the way for that kid.

(And, if you have a few bucks, invest in Apple when it first goes public even though everyone around you is telling you that Apple Computers is a mere fad.  Trust me, kid … )