I bookmarked this post by Donald Miller at some point last year, intending to use it... and then forgot about it. But as the new year rolled around, something made me think about it again. I guess it's that feeling of being able to start fresh when January 1 arrives, that desire to improve yourself and your circumstances that doesn't seem to come at any other time of the year. So I was reminded of this question that Miller poses, and really, the number of comments that he receives back is what's intriguing to me. 317 comments of random people writing back in response, posting their own list of "What Ifs".
I think there is a part in all of us that longs to dream. Perhaps that's the draw of New Year's Resolutions. And I think sometimes we dream too small while other times, we are afraid to 'go big'. Eh, you gotta start somewhere. So I made a list of questions for myself, some that are tangible, others that require some serious effort, and a few that are pretty huge for me. But I think asking and thinking about questions like this helps us to live out the story that God intended for our time on earth. Here goes...
• What if I joined a running club?
• What if I took more risks?
• What if the first thing I thought of every morning was not how much I had to do for the day, but instead, how much work the kids on Lake Volta had already done in the early morning hours?
• What if I was captured by Love?
• What if I acted on what I believed and didn’t worry about the details?
• What if I traveled to Ghana twice this year?
• What if I remembered that God is way better at being in control than I am?
• What if I went camping/hiking/exploring more?
• What if I found a good balance between taking on many things at once and taking time to recharge?
• What if there was nothing more important to me than following in the ways of Jesus?
• What if I stopped _________ (watching tv, spending time online, etc...) and lived a good story instead?
• What if I actually became the prayer warrior I’d like to be?
• What if I did one thing everyday that was totally against the way in which the world operates and lives?
• What if I invested in people without boundary or question?
• What if I actually did go climb Long's Peak?
• What if I loved God with all my heart, not all my head?
What if YOU made a "What If" list and started living it out?
Oh, and Happy New Year!
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