Nowhere Else To Go

Stop and take a minute to think of something that you've read, seen, or heard that sticks in your mind. Is is something that you think of often? Does it inspire you? Make you question your direction in life? Make you smile fondly? (written 24 Aug 07)

We all have triggers. Hopefully not the kind that when we're pointed at someone in anger will make us explode! What I refer to when I speak of a "trigger" is not the method by which you launch a bullet from a gun. When I think of a trigger, I think of something that caused a change in my life. Something that makes me stop and think.

In 1982, I was a senior in high school and still had a rosy view of the world. My prince charming was going to come and carry me away, much as Richard Gere did to Debra Winger in the movie "An Officer and A Gentleman." Have you ever seen that movie? As much as I liked (and yes, still do) that sappily romantic ending, when I think of that movie, the "happy ever after" ending is NOT the first thing that comes to mind. There is a scene in the movie with Richard Gere and Louis Gossett, Jr. alone. Gossett is the drill instructor that is badgering Gere's character, trying to get him to quit. Gere replies with "I ain't gonna quit." Gossett continues, and Gere screams at him "I got nowhere else to go!" Think about that for a moment.

Have you ever been at a point in your life where you're telling yourself "I got nowhere else to go?" I have. I have been there. Thinking there is nowhere else to go. While my faith has always been a presence in my life, until very recently it has not always been the first priority. Driving along a few months ago, I suddenly realized something. With my job change last year and the circumstance change that accompanied it, the end of a relationship, and other happenings in my life, I realized a very important point. For me, it came to having to get down on my knees!! Until I did so, I would never again be able to walk. I thought about that long and hard. It doesn't happen that way for everyone, for all I know, it may not happen that way for anyone else. For me, however, it did. God made me realize that until I was willing to fall to my knees and ask him back into my life, there would be no upright walk. I would simply continue sinking until I faded away.

Now, I am blessed to know that never again will I have to say to myself "I got nowhere else to go!" I DO have somewhere to go! Heaven is waiting for me, whenever my God decides He is finished with me here on earth. If you are thinking that you are alone, that you have nowhere else to go ... remember this, "worry looks around, faith looks UP." Get down on your knees, talk to God. You will stand up refreshed, blessed, and straighter than you ever did before. Most beautiful of all? You will never again walk alone. Isn't that a wonderful thing?

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” ~Psalm 116:1-2 NIV