The Story’s Not Over
By
Lexi Ellis
“Then
you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear
you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your
heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord...”
Both were soooo close!
I had purchased a loveseat at a garage sale and it was just inches too big. The
afternoon was spent desperately trying multiple ways to get it into our
apartment…the awesome price now just a waste of money. Then, a job opportunity
unexpectedly became a “no.” Devastated, I was outside moving the loveseat to
the patio, right as my husband left for a run without his phone and locked me
out. I called my dad, asking him to bring the spare key over. While waiting, I
sat on the couch that I couldn’t have, crying over the opportunity I thought I
couldn’t have either. Being the perfect dad of girls, when my dad found me, he
said, “Wow, rough day, huh?” and sat down, scooping his arms around me as I
curled up next to him. Tears continued to fall as I tried to explain why
everything was falling apart.
My dad listened as I
lamented at the irony and symbolism of my couch and career opportunities being
soooo close to what I wanted…and all I ended up with was being locked outside
my apartment. Instead of telling me I was being dramatic, my dad looked at me
and said, “Lex…the story is not over.”
We need that sometimes.
The story is not over. Looking back, the loveseat ended up being donated and,
sweetly, the Lord showed me the family that would be blessed by it; the $30 I
spent on it wasn’t a waste at all. And despite a couple more roller coasters,
the employment opportunity ended up in a way in which God worked exactly according
to His perfect timing, even when it didn’t make sense.
The story is not over.
I grew up memorizing that God has plans for us, but the spiritual principles of
verses 13 and 14 of Jeremiah 29 have been meaningful for me. The story is not over
because when we seek the Lord, He not only finds us, but restores us. The story
is not over because He not only gathers us, but brings us to a better place.
In the midst of our challenges, sometimes we need the reminder as we’re crying on a couch that our God is big, His timing is perfect…and the story isn’t over.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Identify the
circumstances that need the reminder that the story is not over.
2. Consider writing
“the story is not over” somewhere prominent as a reminder.
FURTHER READING:
Lexi is married to Andrew and has a puppy named Calvin. She serves with Oakwood’s Children’s Ministries, teaches sixth grade at Silver Lake Intermediate School, and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.
