When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
This blog has kind of been lost in the shuffle of things in my life in the last couple of weeks, but I think it's time to fire it back up. I was reminded of one of my favorite thoughts a few minutes ago, and I thought it worthwhile to write about. It's a thought that brings tears of joy to my eyes every time I think of it: the fact that no matter what happens, I'm always in the mind of God.
I won't go into that since I don't think it's appropriate for this blog, but I believe there's plenty of reason to believe that the writer of the play "Our Town," Thornton Wilder, was not a saved man. Despite that, in that play, he found a way to very eloquently relate the wonderful truth of the text verses.
In this post, I'm not going to talk about the scene in "Our Town," but I would like to talk about a scene from my own writing that was inspired by it. The central character of the scene is a 10-year-old native of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Paula Taylor. Paula has felt overwhelmed by things going on at school, at home, and an upcoming skating competition. She feels pressure to do extremely well at school because one of her brothers, Parker, is highly intelligent. She feels pressure to do well on the ice because her sister, Paige, is the most talented young figure skater in the area. The result is that she focuses too much on the surrounding troubles and loses sight of God and what He can do for her.
A chain of events that follows teaches her a couple of lessons. One is that she doesn't have to worry about living up to the potential of anyone else. All anyone can expect of her is that she does her best. The other is that no matter what happens do her -- and even when she forgets Him -- she is always in the mind of God. He is always concerned about her and always has her best interests in mind.
To drive that point home to her, Paula's mother recalls the scene from our town. I'll share the words of Mrs. Taylor here:
“When I was in high school, I had an assignment to read the play ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder. It is told in the play that a character received a letter addressed like this: ‘Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.’
“I’ve never forgotten that in all the years that have passed since then. The lesson I learned from it is that no matter how small I am, God has never forgotten me, and will never forget me. No matter where I am or what I do, I’m always on His mind. You are Paula Taylor; The Taylor Home; Colonial Park; Lloydminster; Saskatchewan; Canada; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.”
As the youngest of four children, Paula often feels insignificant. As you go through that progression, she -- and we -- appears smaller and smaller. Yet, when we zoom out farther and farther and go beyond even the limits of the universe itself into the mind of the Almighty Creator that spawned it all, there we are. On the scale of the universe, we're not even an insignificant speck, yet God is mindful of us. He's so mindful of us that He took on human flesh and died on a cross to redeem us.
Maybe your talents don't seem as great as those around you, and maybe you feel castaway by others, but God loves you nonetheless. You're always on His mind. You were on His mind while He bled and died. The account given may be one experienced by a fictional character, but I assure you, the truth is not fictional. It's as real as you, I, and the Mind of God.
Psalms 8:3-4
This blog has kind of been lost in the shuffle of things in my life in the last couple of weeks, but I think it's time to fire it back up. I was reminded of one of my favorite thoughts a few minutes ago, and I thought it worthwhile to write about. It's a thought that brings tears of joy to my eyes every time I think of it: the fact that no matter what happens, I'm always in the mind of God.
I won't go into that since I don't think it's appropriate for this blog, but I believe there's plenty of reason to believe that the writer of the play "Our Town," Thornton Wilder, was not a saved man. Despite that, in that play, he found a way to very eloquently relate the wonderful truth of the text verses.
In this post, I'm not going to talk about the scene in "Our Town," but I would like to talk about a scene from my own writing that was inspired by it. The central character of the scene is a 10-year-old native of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Paula Taylor. Paula has felt overwhelmed by things going on at school, at home, and an upcoming skating competition. She feels pressure to do extremely well at school because one of her brothers, Parker, is highly intelligent. She feels pressure to do well on the ice because her sister, Paige, is the most talented young figure skater in the area. The result is that she focuses too much on the surrounding troubles and loses sight of God and what He can do for her.
A chain of events that follows teaches her a couple of lessons. One is that she doesn't have to worry about living up to the potential of anyone else. All anyone can expect of her is that she does her best. The other is that no matter what happens do her -- and even when she forgets Him -- she is always in the mind of God. He is always concerned about her and always has her best interests in mind.
To drive that point home to her, Paula's mother recalls the scene from our town. I'll share the words of Mrs. Taylor here:
“When I was in high school, I had an assignment to read the play ‘Our Town’ by Thornton Wilder. It is told in the play that a character received a letter addressed like this: ‘Jane Crofut; The Crofut Farm; Grover’s Corners; Sutton County; New Hampshire; United States of America; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.’
“I’ve never forgotten that in all the years that have passed since then. The lesson I learned from it is that no matter how small I am, God has never forgotten me, and will never forget me. No matter where I am or what I do, I’m always on His mind. You are Paula Taylor; The Taylor Home; Colonial Park; Lloydminster; Saskatchewan; Canada; Continent of North America; Western Hemisphere; the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.”
As the youngest of four children, Paula often feels insignificant. As you go through that progression, she -- and we -- appears smaller and smaller. Yet, when we zoom out farther and farther and go beyond even the limits of the universe itself into the mind of the Almighty Creator that spawned it all, there we are. On the scale of the universe, we're not even an insignificant speck, yet God is mindful of us. He's so mindful of us that He took on human flesh and died on a cross to redeem us.
Maybe your talents don't seem as great as those around you, and maybe you feel castaway by others, but God loves you nonetheless. You're always on His mind. You were on His mind while He bled and died. The account given may be one experienced by a fictional character, but I assure you, the truth is not fictional. It's as real as you, I, and the Mind of God.
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