This One Principle Is Changing My Life
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Just ask any songwriter who has tried to come up with a unique way to say, “I love you,” or a mystery writer wanting to disguise the murderer until they choose to reveal them, there are only so many ways to tell a story or communicate a truth.
Having acknowledged that however, what has become clear to me in recent months is that I can know what is true in my head and still not walk it out in my day to day life.
Whether I do or don’t, one thing remains constant. There are certain irrevocable laws that stand whether we align ourselves with them or not…..so to the principle of this piece.
It started with two thoughts converging in my heart at the same time
A Long Obedience In The Same Direction
Play the movie forward
In 1980 Eugene Peterson wrote, ‘A Long Obedience In The Same Direction’. I bought the book because I was intrigued by the title. It described what my life was not. I favored a short obedience in the same direction or a long obedience in differing directions but something about the title grabbed hold of me and would not let go.
Fast forward to 2007 when I had the privilege of speaking in arenas around the nation through ‘Women Of Faith’ with one of my most cherished friends, Dr. Henry Cloud. For thirty weekends I sat and listened to Henry’s brilliance and one phrase tattooed itself to my soul, “Play the movie forward.” The principle is simple, play the movie of your life forward, where do you want to be in one year and what are you doing today to move towards that?
It’s simple
It’s life changing
If you want to be 30 pounds thinner by the summer, what are you doing today to get there?
If you want a greater understanding of God and what he has revealed to us through scripture, what are you doing today to get there?
If you want your children to grow up and make a healthy choice in a husband or wife what are you modeling today that will lead to that?
People often write to me and ask how to get a book published but it never starts there. It starts by getting up everyday and writing, pouring out your heart, deleting half of it and starting again the next day.
So….this is not a new thought but let me ask you, (within the realm of where you have choice) what do you want your life to look like this time next year and what are you willing to do today to step toward that?
It will take a long obedience in the same direction AND it will change your life!
