Corinne Vance in 2003 – 11 years old. Photo by the Delta Bohemian
Young & Free Columnist
Corinne Vance
Who do you hold responsible for the good and bad things in your life? When something great happens do you say, “Man, I got lucky!” or “It’s about time!” When everything seems to be crumbling around you do you place blame on others or wonder why God could let this happen? It’s easy to want to take credit for the good and play victim when things are bad. But, when you focus on the big picture it’s easy to see that there is more of a method to the madness.
When I started getting to know Bryan Fikes, anytime something good would happen he’d say, “It’s that good clean livin’.” I first interpreted this as another version of “Man, I got lucky!” but as I got to know him, his faith, and how he was weaving it into his belief in the Lord, I got a better understanding of the phrase.
It’s kind of like God has a Reward Card for his followers. If you have faith in the Lord (believing in him even when things are tough), live your life for him, and treat others the way you would like to be treated, you get a punch in your card. Faith is blind, yes, but I don’t think God lets your love for him go unnoticed. If we show him love, he shows us love in return, and the more you look to him for meaning in your daily life, the more obvious this becomes.
You can’t go around doing good deeds expecting everything to magically change, but naturally, if you love the Lord, you start living better. And next thing you know, on that day you’re late, the parking spot closest to your class will be the only one available in the whole parking lot, or when there’s a 45 minute wait at the restaurant and a table opens up in the seat-yourself-section of the bar right when you walk in, you’ll know it’s not luck. That’s that good clean livin’ for the Lord.
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