Had It Not Been!
Put yourself in neutral…sit back and reflect with me for a spell! You would probably do well to even grab a piece of paper and pen, and write down some things that apply to yourself as you read this. Rather than making New Year’s resolutions, make New Year’s reassessments. I’m sure as you read this, you will find yourself reflecting over some of the issues in your life that can be approached from a different perspective, positive instead of negative, when you precede them with, ‘Had it not been’!
The New Year, 2010, is here! Where will it take us? Only God knows! So to begin with I will inject this poem that I wrote several years ago:
Only God Knows
Only God knows what you feel inside,
Only God knows the things that you hide-
Only God knows the fear that you face,
Only God knows your great need of grace!
The path of your life is taking a turn,
Get out of your box, let past bridges burn-
Allow faith to rise again in your heart,
For God placed it there, His will to impart!
Life is too short to have tunnel vision,
Give Him your all and fulfill your mission-
‘Go ye into all the world’ and plant seed,
Open your spiritual eyes and take heed!
Daily you’ll meet those in need of God’s care,
And only God knows if someone will share
The plan of salvation simple and true ,
Only God knows if that one will be you!
Dare to be different and show to your world
What faith can produce when it is unfurled-
You’ll rise to new heights and daily be free,
Only God knows just how great you can be!
D. S. Mullis
Copyright.2010
The reason for this writing is to make you and me become conscious of life in a broader perspective. It is to challenge us to take four words and reflect for a while—‘Had It Not Been’!
As you think of these four words see how many statements you can make from them that can impact your life in this New Year.
Naturally, it will be easier to think in a negative way.
For example, Adam could have said, ‘Had it not been for Eve, I would still be in the garden’…to which Eve could have rebutted, ‘Had it not been for the serpent, we both could still be in the garden.’ How easy it is for us to herald our dilemmas to blame or regret.
The purpose of this story, article, essay, or whatever category it may fall under, is to bring us to a positive rather than negative perception of what life holds for each of us.
My philosophy is that ‘had it not been’ for all the experiences in life that I have encountered I would not be who I am today. Neither would you. No matter where you are in life, there is always another rung of the ladder to reach for and climb to.
‘Had it not been’ for God, you nor I would have been born. Had I never been born, then my adopted mama and daddy would have been devoid of an only adopted child. Thus, never would they have known the ups and downs of parenthood.
So, from the beginning, ‘had it not been’ played a positive role in my reason for being. Even though I could view the dilemma from a negative perspective and detest my biological parents for putting me up for adoption, though my adopted circumstance were much more productive, I chose to view it from a positive perspective and be thankful for the choices that were made.
As I have grown older, even more do I see the purpose of this scenario. As my precious mama is ninety-five years old now, she constantly tells me she does not know what she would do ‘had it not been’ for me being her daughter!
‘Had it not been’….since I shared this thought with my beloved son, he has mentioned several instances when these four words came to his mind.
He watched an incident on YouTube that really fascinated him. After he watched it, he texted me and told me to watch it. He stated that ‘had it not been’ for a certain part of the excerpt the end would have been totally devastating. But because of a distraction, which looked like the means to an end, it actually ended up being the salvation of the subject. And emphatically, ‘had it not been’ for that part of the scenario, the picture would not have ended up being a ‘miracle’ of sorts!
Again, a situation happened that hit closer to home. It appeared to be something of a life gone awry. A distraction came, and even though it still seems that the distraction will be the means to an end, it actually ignited a fire that is burning in his life brighter and more intense than ever before. So, ‘had it not been’ for that, this would not be happening now.
Both of these examples show a positive perception in each rather than a negative one. And that is the purpose of this writing--to help us re-evaluate the circumstances we face in our lives. Romans 8:28 always prevails, given time.
‘Had it not been’…four simple words, yet profound in their meaning. Surrounded by circumstances many times beyond our control, it is easy to want to cop out or even shift blame to another person or circumstance. Yet, we have to keep looking for the positive in the circumstance.
If we reflect back over even the past year, it is easy to speculate that life could have been more meaningful or productive ‘had it not been’ for obstacles, hindrances if you will. But truthfully, ‘had it not been’ for the obstacles or hindrances, perhaps life would be more devastating than it seems at the present.
Have you ever been getting ready to go to work or church or somewhere important, and it seemed like right at the last minute something would happen to detain you? What was your reaction? Frustration? Aggravation? Even anger? Then once you were finally able to get on the road to your destination you happened up on an accident that appeared to have just happened minutes earlier! Yep, ‘had it not been’ for the last minute detainment, you could have been in that accident. So, the point is that we should be thankful for the ‘had it not beens’ in our life. We are quick to react to incidences that inconvenience us in the least when a lot of times the inconvenience is really a deterrent. Can you look at it in that vein? I can now, more than ever.
If we expect to impact others, if we are concerned about expanding our borders and getting out of our ruts, then action is required. Talk is cheap, as the old saying goes, unless you’re talking long distance, and that’s what so many of us do—talk, talk, talk. But NIKE says, “Just do it”…stop talking and do something, even if it’s wrong. It will give you more incentive to do right again!
I have been told on several occasions in the last year, “ ‘Had it not been’ for you coming into our lives, I don’t know what we would have done.” Was it just happenstance, or convenience, or even by choice? No! But it was because of purpose. God has a purpose in all of our lives, and in His time He will help us fulfill that purpose if we continually seek Him for the ‘had it not been’ episodes.
You can be sure that there will be obstacles, there will be ditches to climb out of, you will get dirty during the process, but in the end you will find a peace that passes all understanding…because ‘had it not been’ for you and your influence in some needy person’s life, that person might be hell today for eternity.
I will conclude this writing with one of my favorite poems:
In His Time
God has a purpose for all of our lives,
A work must be done, beginning inside
The heart of each one, that we might find out
What living by faith is what life’s about!
For some it takes months, and others it’s years
For faith to arise and conquer our fears-
But we can be sure it’s all in God’s time,
Just as this poem has rhythm and rhyme!
Just as the ocean tide goes out and in,
Just as the blood of Christ cleanses our sin-
God has appointed a time just for you
To change your perspective, broaden your view!
Faith comes by hearing, by hearing the Word,
Through faith comes a voice that we never have heard-
Faith gives you courage to walk the unknown,
To show forth a light you never have shown!
Don’t be afraid to take off your mask,
Let Him be Lord is all He will ask-
Yes, in His time, friend, I hope you will see
A life that is full, a life that is free!
D. S. Mullis
Copyright.2010
‘Had it not been’…yes, ‘had it not been’ for EVERYTHING that has come my way, I would not be writing or serving or reaching or desiring for more than I have already experienced. Let’s embrace ‘had it not been’ everytime it surfaces in our lives! The best is yet to come!
