What does it really mean
to live by the verse,
"All things work together for good"? 

It means on certain days,
days like today - 
you turn on the projector of your life, 
and you allow it to run - 
clipping along with images of
past people, conversations, & events. 

You relive choices you made,  
paths you didn't take,
for reasons of logic, or fear, or cowardice.
And you reflect. 
You get down in the mire and think
as the projector whirs along,
inanimate & efficient. 

You review it all - the good and the bad.
Your eyes never close, and your head never turns. 
Then the whap, whap, whap
of the last reel let's you know
that you've caught up to "now." 

And you understand. Truly understand.
The mistakes, the victories, the heartbreak, the hope -
all have led you to right here, and right now. 
They have created the essence of you.
The "sadder, but wiser" yet simultaneously,
the "blessed and highly favored" 
version of you. 

You also see the hand of God at work.
The guidance, the gentle nudging,
the course correcting, and protecting.
You have true hindsight, and realize 
you are seeing your past the way 
God sees your entire lifeline. 

We are the sum of our choices,
but God sees where each choice will lead,
and how He can orchestrate it for our good. 
However, like the benevolent parent He is,
good does not always equate happy.
It just means for our benefit. 

And knowing His sovereignty, 
no matter how you muddle the circumstance,
is the best way I've found to live by the verse,
"All things work together for good."