May 7, 2012

Whatifs

What if I don't wait for marshmallow #2?

What if I do wait for marshmallow #2?

What if I only sneak a little bite from #1?

What if no one sees me?

Those whatifs.

The lady who does my hair works magic. I’m incognito when I leave each time since she has the knack to make my hair do things I’ll never be able to repeat.  But I love her talent at giving me just the right cut even if I can’t do the same style.  But I love my visits with her for more reasons than just the hair thing.  It’s the great conversations every three months.

Last week we ended up talking about “what ifs”.  You know those haunting thoughts that create doubt about past decisions and actions. The ones that scream, WHAT IF!!!!! The ones that deceive us into believing that had we taken a different road then maybe what was around the corner would have been more what we expected or wanted.

In the midst of our conversation, she commented, “You know we will always have ‘what ifs’ in life.” 

And that's the bottom line. It’s true. They aren’t going to go away. They seem to have permanent residency in life.

Shel Silverstein captured the ongoing battle with whatifs in his poem appropriately titled WHATIF:

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
And sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow tall?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems swell, and then
The nighttime Whatifs strike again!

Whatifs can be our own worst enemy.  And yet aren’t we giving ourselves way more credit than we should?  Just by entertaining the whatif thoughts we are concluding that we truly an upper hand on God. 

As if we have control over our outcomes.    

At the heart of battling the whatifs lies going back to the truth (After all...we should remember “And the truth shall set you free” John 8:32)

 “I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
¹⁰ I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

                                           Isaiah 46:9-11