Waiting for the other foot to fall.

     I think that most of us have heard the phrase "Waiting for the other foot to fall." sometime in our lives.  Either a grandparent, parent or a relative/friend has bemoaned their plight in life with this phrase.  When something isn't going right we tend to think "What else can go wrong."  Very seldom, if ever, do you hear people say, "What else is going to go right!"  We reinforce the down side by claiming that our best friend, Murphy, is not just an active part of our lives but the initiator of all that happens in our life that is negative.  So, people carry a rabbits foot for good luck.  Wasn't very lucky for the rabbit.  They throw salt over their shoulder and don't walk under ladders.  Black cats are avoided and on and on it goes.  When did life get to that point where looking for the bad, the worst, the awful was predominant and the good was non-existent?  As I was looking at this in my life I noted to self, "That's been a habit in my life ever since I can remember."  What has happened in society is a travesty. When people do nothing evil will always triumph.
     Let's imagine for a moment that you (or I) are someone else's "other foot" and they are waiting for something not good to happen.  Imagine that you have the power to choose to have something good happen instead.  What do you think that someone would think when something good happened instead?  Would you be able to remain silent and just bless the other person anonymously?  Along those lines people bemoan the situation of when someone close to them dies.  The "bad news comes in three's" kicks in and we begin to look for who will die next.  Then after number 3 dies we relax because the cycle is over.  What if you could speak into some one's life and celebrate all who are in their lives and remain alive?  In essence we have the power and ability and opportunity to be a positive or negative element in our life and the lives of those we care about.  Instead of engaging the "Murphy's Law" that is so prevalent, what would happen if we engaged in "Jesus' Law"?  Would we be found waiting for the other foot to drop?  Probably not. 
     People live in one of three spheres.  There are those who live in the past.  Their place is to keep one eye on the past and maybe go to work today and have lunch.  Like the Israelites who cried to return to Egypt and slavery, those who live in the past are more comfortable living without the need to engage or change.  They can be complacent because "nothing ventured, nothing gained."  Then there are those who live in the future (we'll get to the present presently).  Their view is always of what could be.  Often this brings people to a fairy tail existence where the knight rides in on the white horse and saves the day making everything just peachy.  We see it in those who profess faith in Jesus as they build and live their lives with no concern for the present and the past doesn't mean a thing.  Their minds are so "heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good."  Finally there are those who live in the present.  They see each day as a gift of God, are thankful for today and know that God has plans for them today.  The don't focus on that which they have no control.  The past is gone and the future is not yet.  The present is today, this moment, and the immediate need. 
     When we wait for the other foot to fall we have choices.  We can use the past to validate that the bad is going to happen.  We can use the future to validate that there will be a dessert bar in heaven.  We can use the present to live for Christ knowing he's brought you here for a reason.  When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if he knew the day and moment Christ would return; he replied, "I'd plant another tree."  Besides the fact that Martin Luther had a great garden, he was talking about continuing on what he was doing right then.  He was planting Gospel seeds and showing Christ to people so they could also be saved.  His focus wasn't on the past though he certainly had an incredible past.  His focus wasn't on the future though he certainly changed the future for many man and woman.  His focus was on the present and the task that Jesus had asked him to accomplish for that day and that day alone.  He wasn't waiting for the other foot to fall.  Why?  Because it didn't matter.  What mattered were the lives and souls of the lost. 
     The other foot that could fall in your life is either positive or negative.  It's your choice.