It's the nature of the film industry
that employment on any one job is of limited duration. A movie is
budgeted, the crew gathers together for a few weeks or months of
active shooting, and then scatters once more to wherever the next
project takes them. While boredom is rarely an issue, neither is
there any such thing as job security, as plans can be canceled on
short notice when financing falls through or there is a relationship
fallout between some of the key people involved. As contacts are made
and reputations are built, the job offers come more readily, but the
pursuit of a paycheck can be a constant struggle for those just
starting out.
As a worry-prone mother of an
electrician/lighting technician in the industry, I long ago committed
my son's employment and financial status to God. My job is simply to
thank Him in advance for taking care of the issue and for building in
my son the skills set and personal character needed to be successful.
Therefore, I was delighted with the news that his November bills
would be covered by a three-week stint on a short film in at the
start of a traditionally slow season of the year. Additionally, there
was the hope that he might jump onto another movie after
Thanksgiving. When telling a family member that we were keeping our
fingers crossed that this would happen, it suddenly occurred to me
that I didn't need to cross
fingers on hands already clasped in prayer.
Two words in the situation I was
relaying suddenly caught my attention: the job he wanted would start
after Thanksgiving. More than a suggested start date, the
combination refers to the timing of any expected answer to prayer.
Truly the key to unleashing God's bounty in any situation is to thank
Him for releasing His answers and gifts before they are
received. The traditional celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday is
to look back on the year just past and give thanks for the good
things that have occurred in the preceding three hundred and
sixty-five days. But if that's all we do, we stop short of receiving
the full blessing that God has packed into that twelve-letter word.
I'm approaching the Thanksgiving
holiday a little differently this year as a result. As usual, when
our family gathers around the dinner table and looks at the platters
of steaming family favorites set before us, we'll go one by one
around the room and tell what we're especially thankful for this
year. When my turn comes I will certainly thank God for His
faithfulness in the year just past. But this time I will also thank
Him for the same in the year to come, thanking Him in advance
for His answers to the specific situations I've laid at His feet.
Too often we pray with the attitude of
a quarterback who throws a pass deep and just hopes that a team
member will catch it downfield. It's a last ditch effort to save a
situation that we deem hopeless in the extreme. Yet God wants us to
realize that He is on the receiving end of our prayers and He never
drops a one. He honors hands raised in praise, those signaling
victory before the end zone has actually been reached. In my son's
situation it is that praise and thanks in advance that will turn the
possibility of a job offer into a check deposited in the bank. The
job may start after the holiday, but not before the thanksgiving –
I've made sure of that!
“Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
(Philippians 4:6 NKJV,
emphasis mine)
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