Shaken AND Stirred

Tis the season for Christmas cookies, gift giving and great movies at the theater. The last item isn’t that big of a deal but our tribe looks forward to the new releases this time of year.

Take for example, James Bond. Please don’t lose all respect for me when I tell you I love James Bond movies. The new ones aren’t too bad. The old ones? The bomb.

I concede in the interest of political correctness and my own late-blooming indignation they are a bit sexist. (Let’s not even talk about the names the 60’s script writers gave the heroines.)

HOWEVER, if you can look past the faults within the franchise the Bond movies consistently portrayed an entertaining and satisfying story. There was always a hero who was clearly on the side of good that defeated everyone on the side of bad.

Every. Single. Time.

It was a victory you could count on. Every ending favored the hero and all was well with the world. Of course, you could also count on the iconic introduction. Script writers would ensure an opening early in the movie for;

Bond, James Bond.

Right after that some sassy looking chick would serve him a Martini.

Shaken, not stirred.

How comforting! Despite plot twists and turns you could always count on a great beginning and an even better ending.

We live in a day and age when comfort is drawn from the things we can count on. Perhaps, it’s because there’s so much we can’t.

• Will our families have insurance coverage next year? Depends upon who’s elected and the fate of Affordable Health Care.
• Will our kids turn out OK when the world screams at them to make choices contrary to their own well-being?
• Will terrorism strike (abroad or at home) and harm people we love?

This tiny list only scratches the surface. Any of the above has the potential to unnerve a gal, but there are many things that can shake us up. I have “normal” friends (whatever that means) and yet my tiny circle of significant others could (in one breath) rattle off:

Divorce—-Addiction—-Suicide—-Disease—-Unemployment—-Abuse—-Death

No wonder we’re shaken!

But we don’t have to be stuck trembling. There is something we can count on, more like someone we can count on. Bond doesn’t come close to the hero waiting in the wings for us.

God the Father has been there from the beginning. He knit his children together and keeps them as the apple of His eye. Their redemption has been His number one rescue mission from the dawn of time.

When the reel of our story begins to play and the enemy smugly tries to intimidate God, our Father doesn’t need the “Bond, James Bond.” introduction. God doesn’t even need to respond. His existence is enough because He is I. Am. His mere presence is introduction enough.

Jesus Christ came as manifestation of the Great I Am. Our hero took form. Flesh and blood. And oh how He gave blood. The movie is two-thirds over and we dab our eyes when the hero dies. It’s moving to think that the heroine was worth the greatest of all sacrifices.

But like any great story, the ending isn’t the ending. The hero may no longer be on the big screen but satisfactory endings always exude hope. Holy Spirit Hope.

This kind of hope touches deep and it is permanently impressed upon the ones left behind. You watch them play out the rest of their story and you’re touched because despite their tumultuous journey they’ve been so much more than shaken. They’ve been stirred.

They’re not the same person they were at the beginning of the story. How could they be? Someone who loved them died for them and they are forever changed. The plot takes a new trajectory and it’s a line that’s heaven bound.

Is there something in your life that has you feeling shaken?

I pray that as the heroines of our own stories you and I will journey from shaken to stirred. May we remember the cost and count with confidence all that He’s promised for the future.

“Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God.” Hebrews 12:28-29 MSG

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline…” Heb. 6:19 MSG

Be sure to hop over to Suzie Eller’s #livefree community in the next few days. Beautiful souls are sharing their stories of what it means to be shaken. And don’t forget——–DoAhead Woman’s Face Book page is full of encouraging words Every. Single. Day. Hope to “see” you there! 🙂

Your (Shaken and Stirred) DoAhead Friend,