A Sudden Manifestation Of The Essence Or Meaning Of Something.

1. Epiphany (n. pl. e·piph·a·nies)
a. A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus t0 the
Gentiles as represented by the Magi.
b. January 6, on which this feast is traditionally observed.
c. A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.
d. A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive
realization.


Epiphany. By definition it sounds like something really good. Who wouldn't want to have an epiphany - a spiritual awakening, if you will. Epiphanies are made to sound so mysterious, like they are rare; but I'm sure that ALL of us have had an epiphany sometime in our lives. A moment where we slap ourselves on the forehead and mutter, a la Homer Simpson....DOH! I believe that Oprah likes to call them A HA Moments. (She's probably patented it or something & now I'm going to have to pay royalties. That's just like Oprah, to have a patent of epiphanies).

I've had several epiphanies in my lifetime, but when they come along they never cease to amaze me. That's probably what makes epiphanies so special. No mater how many of them you have, they never stop being magical. I had my latest epiphany a few days ago.

I've realized that you can put a great deal of energy into a friendship, or any other kind of relationship & never get that same amount of energy from the other person in return. That doesn't mean they don't value the relationship as much as you do, it's just that is THEIR definition of a relationship. They don't understand or even recognize that things are lop-sided. So, you really can't fault them.

I've come to realize that I have a friend who is never going to put into our friendship the time or energy I do. I would do anything for her. Really, I mean it. I know that a lot of people say crap like that & don't mean it, but I do. Anything. Anything. I'm positive that if you were to ask her, she would say the same thing; and she would have the best of intentions in saying it. But instead she would rather spend her time with people who boss her around, bring her down spiritually, and don't take into consideration her feelings. They try to make her a clone of themselves, because Heaven forbid you disagree with them. They believe the definition of a friend is someone who agrees 100% with everything you think and say. Trust me on this one....I learned it the hard way. But of course my friend sees none of this, so once again....I really can't be mad at her.

"Never make someone a priority when they only consider you an option."

I realized that is what was going on. To me, she is a priority. To her, I am only an option. Do you know how much it hurt to realize that? In a way, it makes you feel used. I had myself a pretty good cry about it. I still consider her an amazing friend & I love her to death. I'm not mad at her at all. I'm just smart enough now to realize that I can't let myself get used like that.


But here's the 2nd part of my Epiphany.................

This is exactly what we do to Jesus. We are His priority. His #1 priority. So much so that He would leave Glory to robe Himself in flesh, hang on a cross, & die for us. I've pondered this thought many, many times but it still brings tears to my eyes. And how do we repay Him?? By making Him an option. Most of the time He isn't even option b, or c, or d......

Instead of spending our time with Him, we spend it with people who are only trying to boss us around, or make us clones of themselves. People who really don't love us for us, the way He does - but only love us if we will agree 100% with everything they think & say. This world is full of people trying to take our time, energy, & focus away from our Saviour & best friend, Jesus Christ. Are we letting them??

Husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend, coworker, schoolmate, boss. Who is it that you are letting get in your way? Or maybe it isn't a person. Is it your job, your career, sports, a hobby or your favorite pasttime? Maybe it's time for all of us to wake up & have some epiphanies...