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Photo taken from here.*
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. –Matthew 6:32-34
The stage was very bright as I climbed the stairs, leaving my cane behind. And I looked out upon the crowd, standing to give me applause. But what was different about this crowd as oppose to any other crowd was that every person there had helped me get there. They, in some small way or another, offered me uplifting words when I needed them. They introduced me to someone I should know. They gave me money for my project. They bought a movie ticket. Unaware of what to say, I stood aghast. After a moment, I walked forward and leaned into the mic, but the words simply couldn’t come. I’m only a person, I thought. But these people are great people. They helped me in my time of need. They may think highly of me but without them, I wouldn’t be here. I gazed around the room and saw all of the faces, knowing each of their stories and how they helped me. Then I began.
The evening went well. I saw a lot of old friends that I wondered about all these years. I saw friends from the studio and from church. In my own heart, I even saw some people that had already passed on before me. I saw my parents who, despite disagreements never quite disowned me. I saw friends from the Nazarene church I was raised in, fifty-five years ago. It was a wonderful night. I shared a glass of wine with a few of them afterward. I shook a few hands but refrained from kissing babies as I didn’t want people expecting me to make a political announcement. But as the night drew nigh, I walked up to my beautiful home, opened the front door and went inside. I hung up my coat and scarf and went about my regular evening activities. But before I considered getting into bed, I got down on both knees and thanked the One who really was behind it all. The One who aligned my path with all of those people. The One who stood by me in the hard times and the good times. The One who told me not to fear and to walk in faith. The One who told me it would be over soon. It was somewhere in the middle where I realized just how great my life is. Not was. Not going to be. But how great my life is today, at this moment. Praising God while I still can. And with that, I got into bed and got ready for another busy day.
A characterization, as it was, of what I imagine sometime in the distant future. Today I sit at my computer with a list of phone numbers, email addresses, and business cards. Whole DVDs of credits within a work with my name. And I reflect on how thankful I am now. For you, reading this blog. I could not do what I do without the many people who stand behind me every day. People that say “call me.” Their help offered. People that say “I can’t wait for the next one.” People that say “I knew you could do it.” As I reflect on just how badly God wanted a relationship with me, I reflect on just how much He loved me beyond that. That as I seek and love Him, all these other things are added unto me. For Him, I am thankful. And for you, I am also thankful.
*The websites in which these photos are found are not necessarily an endorsement from me, but mostly those photos found during a routine image search.