Don’t Write the Review Before the Story is Finished

I’ve been working on a little something that I’ve titled Project R. Don’t ask me why I named it that because I don’t remember. I started this project several lifetimes ago, hahaha. In reality, it was just last year but there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then. This project is geared toward a Christian audience, but I had an entry the other day that I think would apply to anyone, so I wanted to share this with you today.

Don’t Write the Review Before the Story is Finished

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” -Jeremiah 29:11

I’m new to writing devotions. Book reviews have always been my bread and butter. The downside to that is that now everytime I read a book I’m writing a review in my head from the very beginning. Another thing you need to know about me is that I text in my sleep. And now apparently I write reviews in my sleep. For books that I haven’t even finished nonetheless. For the record I wasn’t even halfway through that book. The next morning when I stumbled across my incoherent book review I immediately shared it with my friend. We had a good laugh and that was that. Or so I thought. 

Throughout the next week, I started noticing that in my day-to-day life I was writing reviews in my head for things that hadn’t even happened yet. I would catch myself thinking I don’t want to do XY&Z. It’s going to be stressful. Or crowded. Etc. You get the point and I’m sure you’ve been there. It’s human nature. But I wonder if we’re missing a blessing by going in with a negative review before the thing even starts. Do our closed-minded expectations dull the sparkle of a potentially life changing experience?

I wish I had the answers, but I don’t. This is something I struggle with pretty often. I’ve seen miracles happen through seemingly negative events, but if I had showed up expecting a miracle God probably wouldn’t have had to beat me over the head for me to recognize what He had planned. We need to breathe, get out of our own heads, and sit back and let God finish the story. Isn’t that what faith is all about? 

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So that’s a little glimpse of one of the projects I’ve been working on. I think the sentiment applies even if you aren’t a Christian. I’m the world’s worst to have a negative attitude and I let it mess up my day. Your thoughts really do matter. If you have a positive outlook on life, you’re more likely to live a happier life. Now I’m not saying that hard times won’t happen. They will. That’s life. But it’s much easier to cope when you get out of your head and release the negative energy. Anyhow, I hope this helped even in just a small way. Sometimes just knowing that someone else is going through what you’re experiencing helps.

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