Finding Life in the DMV!

I hate the DMV. When I say 'hate'... I mean HATE. I heard a statistic the other day which made me squirm in my seat: the average American spends 29 hours in front of the TV PER WEEK! PEOPLE! I am completely outraged. Although I don't spend NEAR that amount in front of this life-sucker, it still makes me want to throw mine out the window.

Sometimes I feel that way about the hours I've had to spend in the DMV.

Also, since I'm on this subject, why is it that EVERY TIME... no matter HOW much of an expert you are at what they do and do not need in order for them to process your request, do you ALWAYS have to come back? Hence the next several hours of my life recorded as sitting yet again in the Department of Motor Vehicles. Not exactly the way I am hoping to go down in history.

Maybe it was God's way of rewarding me for being a good citizen and registering my car in the State of Colorado. Or maybe it was His way of making the point that He can speak to us anywhere, or maybe it was a good combination of the two. Whatever the case may be, I was sitting there, reading my pocket-sized Bible I carry in my purse, when this scripture almost jumped off the page:

"There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting." --Phil 1:28 (Message)

I was sitting there in a nice warm room, 'suffering' in my padded chair, waiting for my number to be called. And there was Paul, in jail, telling the church in Phillipi that suffering for Christ was a GIFT.

Trusting completely in God is such a beautiful thing. Giving Him my everything, even in moments which are painful and times when I just don't understand. But suffering? Didn't Jesus already do that on the cross so we don't have to suffer?

I fear in our culture, where 'happiness' is equated with 'easiness', we have lost the true art of sacrifice. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew that if they were to come after Him, they were to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow after Him. He fulfilled His calling in life by dying and paving the way to God. Now it is our turn to sacrifice our lives daily, and follow after Him.

I strongly believe that the term 'martyr' is not merely reserved for those who are beheaded or lose their physical life for the cause of Christ. Sometimes I think the harder life is to be faithful, to be obedient. To be steadily following God, no matter how rough or windy the road may be.

What a liberating concept. Merely the fact I can CHOOSE every day to do what He has called me to, not because of some obligation, but because it is a gift. It is because I am in love with Him. It is because I want to become just like Jesus. And as I remain faithful, an inexpressible joy fills me, for as I lose my life, THAT is when it is truly found.