Are You Hiding in the Details?

These are stars my class made last Sunday.  They represent the star over the manger.  They have absolutely nothing to do with this post I wrote, but hey, aren't they great?  And count 'em - 18 kids!!

Sunday after church, I was talking with a young lady and we were sharing our struggles and opinions. The years that lay between us dwindled as we found common ground and emotions.  Emotions are universal and ageless.
We considered the ramifications of hiding in the details of life...in order to avoid it. Hmmm. Been there, done that, as they say.  It's easy to do - hide.  Often we don't even realize we are doing it.  It's habit.  We hide behind our children, our lists of things to do, our failures and successes.  We just don't want those inadequacies to become public knowledge.  So, we make excuses - usually good ones that even we would believe - in order to avoid any limelight that might shine our way.
We shy away from parties, people, commitments, people, unknown waters, people, social events, and did I mention people?  Yes, I thought I did.
During these periods, we tend to micro-manage and second guess our every move.  We focus so much on getting something just right that we miss the whole reason behind doing it in the first place. We must not get stuck in or bogged down with the details that are only stepping stones to the main event.  Details matter sometimes, but rarely to the point of agonizing over them.  They represent a small portion of the abundant life we are to be living...abundantly!
Maybe you are someone who has never struggled with feeling...small in a big world.  Well, I don't know you...and I'm not sure I want to.  People who struggle need people who have struggled to show them the way out.
Whether you are twelve or sixty-two and any age inbetween and beyond, it is pretty certain that you will go through a time of uncertainty in your life.  There is One Who endured it all...public humiliation, rejection, mocking, and death as He sought to please only One Other...on our behalf. That's all that matters, by the way...pleasing One Other Person. You and I were made for only one purpose - to bring glory to God.  There is no other goal for us and no higher calling.  Get out of the details.  He has plans for you...and me.

1 Samuel 16:7   But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 
John 4:34-35  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.