When you're sidelined

Sidelined.

That’s how it’s been around here.

Just when our beloved Georgia Bulldogs won the National Championship, and we wanted to be right in the middle of it all, Jerry and I were perched on the sofa watching the parade go by on television. It’s not the same as being there and particularly tough for a man who helped win an SEC championship for his alma mater.

Medical issues have paused our interactions for a while except for those related to health. Hopefully, things will improve soon. While washing my hands in a medical building restroom, I scanned the grey walls and hard tile around me. The dreariness of it threatened to invade my spirit, but an image sprang into my mind.

It was of a sunrise when the rising orb’s rays tinge the world with gold. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to shout “Glory.” 

The Lord reminded me of Colossians 1:27, which includes the phrase, “. . . Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Though circumstances and surroundings were anything but glorious, the reality of Jesus changed my perspective. It’s as if when I left that restroom, the sunrise within eclipsed the grey.

Many of you know what it feels like to be sidelined as well. Disappointment is a particularly sharp arrow in the enemy’s arsenal. But remember when you must take a step back, Jesus is taking that step with you. It may seem the world is passing you by, but Jesus is not. He is in you, the hope of glory. And who knows what he might birth in your heart during the time when you are not in the fray?

So, here we are on the bench seeing what the Lord will do. Someone in this house may be wearing his national championship shirts round the clock, though, even if he didn’t go to the parade. 

Beverly Varnado is the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. A memoir, Faith in the Fashion District,  from Crosslink Publishing  is available wherever books are sold.  Also consider her other books, Give My Love to the Chestnut Trees and Home to Currahee. She also has an Etsy Shop, Beverly Varnado Art. 

To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.com

Beverly Varnado copyright 2022