Puttin' On My Green Jacket

A number of years back, Chris and I heard a sermon by our friend Mike, and it has stuck with us and comes up in our conversations from time to time. Mike referred to one of the stars of Rocky 2 in the end scene when Rocky is running through the city. Watch here if you haven’t seen it:

Did you notice the little girl in the green jacket? You didn’t?? Watch it again and notice her coming up on the left-hand side of the screen after Rocky runs up the stairs (about 2:24 into the clip). Wow, talk about the role of a lifetime for that little girl – she gets to run up, surround this amazing, superstar of a person and cheer him on for all of about 3 seconds!

Okay, so maybe she is not the star of the movie, but as Mike talked about this clip, he likened this little girl to our purpose here on earth. In James 4, God tells us that our lives are “just a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away.” Sobering thought. Likewise, all throughout scripture, it is clear that our purpose in that short amount of time is to bring glory to God so that others might come to know Him. We ARE that little girl in the green jacket, only we aren’t praising Rocky, we are praising the living God! Our lives are like that little 3-second blip on the movie screen and our greatest purpose is to run around, screaming and cheering on the name of the Lord! Can you imagine if that little girl had just pouted her way through the scene or stomped her feet in defiance? She would have missed her opportunity to do what she was purposed to do in that movie. I do not want to miss my opportunity in this short life to rejoice, cheer and lift high the name of the Lord; sometimes even running around with a crazy grin on my face shouting at the top of my lungs!

This view of life also helps me look ahead to the journey set before our family. I want to view this season of deployment as our three seconds to display our joy in the Lord and to cheer for His amazing works in and through us! Nehemiah says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. That is my banner verse for this year. Notice that it doesn’t say that the joy of the Lord will be my strength only when Chris returns or only when this trial is over. It says that the joy of my Savior IS my strength- today!

It is so easy to slip into the mindset of enduring Chris’ deployment, simply making due. I know there will be days that will be hard and there will be times when I am just tired; tired of being alone, tired of parenting on my own, tired physically. But, I am choosing to defy living in an enduring mindset! I am trusting and claiming that this will be a season where God is glorified in us and through us, even in the midst of challenges and growth. This will be a time to praise and glorify the Lord in the valleys and the hills. As much as possible, I want to be that little girl in the green jacket screaming my head off about how good God is, how faithful He is and how overwhelming His love is, especially in the challenging times.

Now, watch the Rocky clip again and see yourself as that little girl jumping up and down in excitement for the Lord - it'll get you fired up!