Go Ahead, make my day!

Most of you who are movie goers have heard the catchphrase "Go Ahead, make my day". An actor by the name of Clint Eastwood played a role in which he used this catchphrase in the movie. The movie was a far cry from a comedy, but it held the attention of many Americans who went to see it. The catchphrase took hold and people have been using it since its' release.



I generally do not like movies that don't make me laugh, but after seeing the movie myself I too sometimes use the phrase in humor.


Taken out of context, the phrase "...make my day" explains how these two cups make my day. There once was a time when I lived in a small town and there was a small gasoline station that sold Icees. Twice a week I would treat myself to an Icee and I was usually accompanied by my children. I became a regular at this station and I knew exactly when the Icees would be most pleasurable. The gasoline station sat right by the high school and and if you got there 45 minutes before the school day was dismissed and enough time before the parents came to pick up their kids, the Icees would be almost frozen solid. Sometimes the Icee machine would sputter and spit the flavored drink out because it was so frozen. Some patrons didn't like this, but I loved it! I would say to myself, "Go Ahead, make my day!!!!" and the Icee would sputter and spit into my cup and literally "make my day."


I moved three years ago away from that town that had the perfect Icee machine and Icees and I have been in search of that perfect Icee ever since. Haven't found the perfect Icee and I don't know if I will again, sometimes I have resolved myself into thinking so, but I really haven't given up hope just yet. Just yesterday my daughter and myself went to get gas and we looked at each other with hopes that they would posses our favored drink. We found to our surprise that it was probably the best Icee since the move, but a far cry from the best.


I enjoyed the Icee all year round. I didn't care if it was hotter than 100 degrees or colder than Zero, this little cup of pleasure was my treat. Once I moved to our new town I became restless, trying to find my niche in almost everything that crossed my path. I always compared my old town to what I previously had or thought I needed. Nothing was the same, of course, new town equates new experiences. I just wanted something constant in my life. Something the same and maybe the Icee would have given me that feeling of being home. Maybe not. I think the real issue that I was contending with was what was God's purpose for me here. Just when you think you know what you are suppose to be doing he switches gears on you, puts a twist in the days of your life and changes things up, so to speak. I thought I was on the upswing, moving right along, comfortable, life was calm. I am learning about Him all over again and growing with Him in a different way. Maybe He thought I was to comfortable, stagnant and He needed to spice my life up a bit.


I am always searching to find ways to be closer to God and sometimes in that search I miss the very God that I am looking for by not accepting what is present. My Icee that I searched for, slurped and shared with my daughter was not necessarily the same Icee I had in the past, but what God did give me that day was a new place and time shared with my daughter. In striving to have it all we miss the very gift that He gives, which is time.



Searching....we are all always searching. Searching to attain something greater than thou, maybe perfection. Some resort to search for it in our jobs, our children, our spouses, church, relationships, or our hobbies or even in our homes. What happens when we think we reach perfection or we attain a given goal, do we continue to look for more and start setting our standards higher? Is enough ever good enough? We strive to fulfill an emptiness in our hearts. My emptiness was the loss of day to day friendships and family, my church home and the casual day to day routines. The constancy in my day gave me time with God. The change now has me thinking too much about other things and trying to find that constancy and in doing so I loose out on the relationships and events that God presents to me as I encounter my new day.



Although I found God in all of these people and events in my life in my previous home town, I did come here spiritually hungry. The change and the hustle and bustle of the move gave me a sense of emptiness that I just couldn't fill by myself. As I reflect on life and my relationship with Him then I still today continue to search or look for the same intimacy with God in the same places with out trying to find him in the new ones. Make sense. I don't know if I really understand it.




Each path towards intimacy with God is different with each person. I believe my path is changing with God daily. Our path towards God is not black and white, but very much in the gray as we come to know ourselves through Him. I am outgrowing some of the notions and motions I used to grow through day in and day out, some by choice and others not so much. I think I am entering a new season with God with new explorations of our love for each other. Each day is new if we accept the invitation. Embracing Him in all that He is and He embracing me for all that I'm not as I search to be holy for Him.



The Lord promises to be with His people. In Exodus 33:14 The Lord said "I will go with you,....."



Come on God, lets go get an Icee. Slurp, Slurp!