The Grass Will Always Be Greener

Sometimes it is hard for me to watch movies.

Weird, right? 

It's difficult for me to invest my time and energy into enjoying a movie. I have a very vivid imagination, so I start to think about that fictional world more than my own. I start to imagine what my life would be like if I was a certain character. Or perhaps how much more glorious the world would be if my hair was animated (no more fly-aways!!!). Or if my friends were perfect...or if I saved the Nation...or if I could be Tom Cruise's accomplice...or if I could fly...or if...or if...

Before I know it, I am dissatisfied with my own life because I have been living in a fictional one for so long. 

The other day I watched a movie with my family. After the movie was done, the same weird and lonely feeling came over me. And that's when it hit me. 

The grass will always be greener on the other side. 

There are two lessons I learned from this thought. 

The grass will always be greener because our imagination is the closest we get to creating something out of nothing. Think about it. When we imagine what a certain job would be like, a different hair color, a different church, a different friend, a different marriage, a better life...we are creating a world in our imagination that doesn't actually exist. The grass will always be greener because we think that we know what is best for us and so we construct an imaginary, future life based on that assumption. 

So, the first lesson is that reality is where I am called to live and where I was chosen to make a difference. Reality, although far less easy, is much more rewarding. You get real, true, genuine friends. You get real problems to grapple with, and real pride out of solving them. Without experiencing the difficult, you will never receive the fought-for, soul satisfying joy. It is interesting how closely happiness and sorrow often flow together. Fantasy is all well and good, but it is not where we live, friends. It is not where we were placed.

But, my Pastor (shout out to Pastor David!!!) pointed out that although that's true...our tendency to imagine, that habit of desiring to be glorious, that bent to have a perfect life is inherent to all humans because we are looking toward the day when our wildest dreams will finally be real.  

Jesus Christ knows what is best for us. That is why He came and created a pathway for us to live in Paradise with Him. And oh, my friends, Heaven will not be us sitting around plucking a lyre. It will be living and doing and working and singing and being with God's people. It will be finally worshipping Him without the weight of sin on our chest (think about that for a moment). It will be an intimate, sweet, and perfect friendship with the Best Friend out there. It will be freedom. It will be joy. It will be the filling of all of our deep, dark voids. It will be the fulfillment of our wildest imaginations. It will be knowing the God of the Universe.

"In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that that I go to prepare a place for you?" John 14:2

What a promise! He is preparing a place for me, His chosen daughter. That's the second lesson. It is not inherently bad to imagine, dream, and wish. That capacity was created by God for good. If we don't know the One and only Savior, though, it causes despair. That is a terrifying place to be. Trapped in a world of fantasy, knowing this world is not right, but not having a real hope for the future.

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness 

for His name's sake...

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, 

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Psalm 23:1-3,6

His pastures are what we ought to dream about. For they are eternally green. 

So, in this stage of life, I don't watch too many movies. Not because they're wrong, but because I have been realizing how much more time I need in His Word, reading His promises, living out His commands, dwelling on His goodness...and how little time I really need watching movies. 

So yes, the grass will always be greener on the other side. We can let our imaginations run away with untrue fantasies, or we can hope in the return of Christ to redeem His church. For He is coming back. 

New Apartment Decor!

But for now, my reality is here. And I'm quite satisfied. In my apartment, with my roommate, at my University, with my homework, Bible in hand...

...and Hope in my heart.