New Scene Selection

We all live through a series of scenes.  Some scenes are more cinematic than others with boring, mundane in-between times, and then moments when you just swear you're living in a movie or a reality television show.  But movies have trained us to be used to instant gratification.  We just jump to the "10 years later..."or travel through a montage of a year in three minutes instead of living through the character's waiting time.  If you listened to our latest podcast on waiting, you heard my big announcement about moving on to a new scene.

When I was somewhere around 18, I asked God, "If I could just meet the person I'm supposed to marry, I'd wait ten years to actually marry him... if I could just know him!"  Why I prayed that, I'm not exactly sure.  I think I was tired of everyone else going on dates and actually have someone ask them to prom.  I was tired of having a crush on the wrong person.  I was tired of the whole situation, and I was only 18! The worst was yet to come! (haha, not really... but it sure wasn't over.)  Maybe I also prayed that because I was tired of the unknown.  As long as I knew who the person was, I wouldn't make any mistakes.  But that's where my thinking was faulty. 

I didn't have the front cover of the movie that gave a clue who the main guy might be, but I sometimes ignored the key plot points that I did know.  And I see other girls do it too.

First, we know who WE are (or hopefully are working towards knowing).  Second, we know who GOD is (the actual MAIN guy of the story.)  But so often, girls are only focused on who they will be with or marry.  Is it just the previews that we see all around us making us wonder who will be in our next scene?  Why is it so hard to focus on the scene we are in? 

SO HAPPY!!!I got a lot of practice in this "waiting" thing... four years of high school, four years of college, and four years after college. Then after four years of dating and waiting, I finally am here. And guess what, I first met Zack when I was 18, and when we get married it will be just 5 months short of ten years later! haha! But many amazing women I know have waited far longer than I have.  It feels too much like a dream to know I actually get to marry my best friend... for real... It's not just a cheesy love song... It's real life!

And the other thing is... Everyone's story is not the same.  We are not all entitled to a scripted series of events. NEWSFLASH! Life does NOT go like this: high school- fall in love - go to college together, engaged, & graduate - immediately get married - immediately have baby - use college degree at dream job - live perfect life - upgrade to a bigger house - get a promotion! - new ginormous house - vacation - become famous - new car! - vacation - retirement - you and your husband die together like The Notebook - yay heaven!

You may laugh at that, but I know far too many girls who do think that, and I bet almost every girl at least hopes for a part of that.  

We are not promised those blessings... so when we get to experience one, we should look at it as "WOW. THANK YOU. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" and not, "Finally."

If you are still waiting to move on to a new scene, remember God has not forgotten you.  You are here for a reason.  A few years ago, when I was in the thick of the "waiting scene", I wrote a song with this line:  "He says, 'Child, I know who you are. I made you this way. And I didn't form you by hand just to throw you away." 

As crazy as it is (but not crazy because God's timing is perfect), this new scene came right before my new scene of finishing graduate school and moving towards full-time teaching.  I'll still always be a GLAM girl and mentor, but now you will get to hear our amazing new team member Lauren on the podcast!  

I will blog and join in the GLAMosphere as often as time allows, so it's not "the end" but just a new beginning.

Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

(Zack didn't know that was my life verse, but he wrote in the book he gave me when he proposed. amazing.)

If you have over ten minutes and want to watch my proposal video, here it is! Note: the proposal was full of inside jokes of our favorite movies and the hidden camera views are difficult to see on youtube. :) 

Zack told me that he was taking me to the Alabama Theatre to watch "The Sound of Music" as a part of a classic movie series. We arrived early to the "event" with tickets in hand, actually EARLY and on time to watch the original trailers and hear the organist play before the movie.  But after the first trailer -- something unexpected happened... The top right screen shows what Ginger saw, the bottom right screen shows the birds-eye view from the balcony, and the bottom left screen shows the side balcony view. The plan went off without a hitch -- other than the lights which were turned down too low for the video to be captured well.  Look closely to see some of the hidden camera view.