"Yes Anding" God

There's something about the act of just moving in the "yes" direction. When you get up and take a stand for the "yes's" that you are and the "yes's" you want to become, something happens. Something very important and something you've wanted all along. But, the decision is more than just a thought or a word. 

Whether you’re a fan of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, or Steve Carell, you’re well acquainted with people who really understand the concept of taking risks. In fact, I even would go out on a limb and say that most of the greatest comedians in our world today understand a lot more about this major aspect of living as a Christian than most of us who would #blessed or write Christian under the “religious views” section on Facebook. Why? Because they fully understand and embrace a concept that we in the acting/improv world like to call “yes, and…”.  

“Yes, and…” is the golden rule of improvisation. It is you agreeing with every piece of the reality that your partner creates and is the technique that you use to keep the scene moving forward. It let's your partner know that you support their decision and that you're onboard with the task of moving to the next moment. I happen to think life works a lot like improv...or improv works a lot like life. Especially life with Jesus.  It seems to me that the key to everything is not only “Yes,” but the addition of “and…”. So many Christians are willing to say “Yes Jesus, I trust you”, “Yes Jesus, I will give”, “Yes Jesus, I want you to change me.” 

“Yes.” 

But what about the “and”? What about the part where you partner with Jesus? He’s not just up there doing a solo act. (Although he’s funny and that would probably be the best one-man-act you’ve ever seen…) That’s not who He is and that’s not what He’s about. He’s about the “and..” He’s a God of “and.” He is all about the partnership. He’s about the sacrifices you make for each other in the scene of life. He’s about the steps and the risks you take to move each scene forward in trust. Just saying you trust Him doesn’t do a whole lot to take your life in any direction. But truly agreeing with him and taking that step of faith toward a reality that you never expected but that he is somehow creating? That is trust. 

Most of our realities are nothing at all like we thought they would be. Most of us grew up with some sort of fantasy as to how our life would work out or end up, but somehow, it’s nothing like we thought. This was something I had to learn, especially as a twenty-something struggling to “make it” in Los Angeles. You imagine the way your life will look and feel one day, but somehow it always turns out differently. You take turns that you never expected to take, lose things you never dreamed of losing, and gain things you never even knew you wanted or needed. 

But that’s all the beauty of “yes, and…” 

If you were doing an improv scene and you planned everything out in your mind from start to finish, you sure wouldn’t get very far because it wouldn’t be a partnership. You’d be stuck at the first line the minute your partner introduces himself as the brain surgeon who will be removing your tumor when the whole time you’ve planned to be two teenage friends shopping at the mall. If you can’t let it go of the mall idea and trust that whatever your partner is offering with the brain surgeon scene will be just as wonderful, your scene will either be dull and lifeless, be really hard to recover, or just end completely with a flop. It’s a complete parallel to our life with Jesus. If we just trust where He’s taking us, and what he’s saying, chances are it’s going to turn out a lot better than if we try to stick to our own version of things. Sure things might come up that are terrifying, things we didn’t plan for, but it will all be worth it when we look back and see what a masterpiece we have created together with Jesus. 

Most of the time Jesus will probably ask you to step out of the everyday box you’re used to being in. He’ll probably ask you to do things you’re afraid of. And that is one of the other most important rules to improv and life.

Follow your fear. 

The general Christian community would likely never support the idea of following something that looks dangerous. At least not when it really came down to it. The concept of “yes, and…” might take you to places that are terrifying. But most of the time, they’re uncomfortable because that’s exactly where you need to be. Fear often reveals itself in places that we know we should be, but often times don’t go because of the opportunity for rejection, failure, embarrassment, disappointment, etc. Most of the time, it’s probably the very thing holding you back from the next level in your life. 

I don’t know where you come from, but here in the City of Angeles there are generally two types of people: the Doers and the Talkers. There are a LOT of Talkers in this city. A whole lot of ‘em. The Talkers "yes" a whole lot. They "yes" about their next project, they "yes" about wanting to get together for coffee, they "yes" about their desire to support you, they "yes" about believing in a cause. 

But, see, the problem is none of these people actually believe. None of them are actually willing to take a risk, to add the “and” to their “yes.” The Doers really believe in what they talk about, and therefore, somewhere along the line it manifests into action, into something beautiful that has been created. 

After a few years of being around these two types of people, you begin to realize what category you want to live in. The Talkers or the Doers. The hard part with being a Doer, though, is actually believing. 

And that's why people leave. That's why people live in LA for 10 years claiming that they are somebody who's doing something and they actually haven't done anything at all. My first month here I met a guy on set who said he'd been out here for over 6 years as an actor. I asked him what he'd done or how it was going and he told me that this was his first time on set in 5 years.

"I'm sorry sir.... but did you say you're an actor?" 

Now the thing is, at some point, this guy really thought he was an actor. He had moved his entire life, including his family, all the way across the country for acting. So at some point, he had believed he was an actor. He had taken the steps of faith toward becoming an actor. But somewhere along the line he turned into a Talker. Somewhere in there he stopped believing he was what he said he was. So then, all of the sudden, he wasn't who he said he was. He knew who he wanted to be, but he didn't believe it. 

It sounds to me like this guy saw his fear and ran away. And now his fear just keeps staring at him every day, lying to him. His belief, his trust in who he is and who he wants to be has been completely lost. And so it can be with our Jesus partnership. It’s really easy for me to get wrapped up in all the fears staring back at me in the eyes. And let me say, they’re not afraid to get real personal. But, sometimes, all it takes for the fear to dissipate is taking the step of “and.” Belief and trust don’t always come right away. They may take some time. It may take a lot more of “yes, anding…” to what Jesus has to offer, especially in the presence of your fear, but the outcome of this scene is going to be a whole lot better. (If not, at least it’s going to be a hell of a lot more interesting than sitting in your same, old, comfortable fear box.) 

When I started writing this blog, I didn’t really realize that it was going to be about taking risks. But it seems like God keeps talking to me about it, so I guess this is what you get. As many of you know, the hard part of risk taking is that it doesn’t always look smart. Normally it looks illogical and scary not only to you, but to other people as well. 2 Nights ago I had a dream where I was in a room filled with my friends and family from all parts of life. Someone, who was not in the room, had given me this new mascara and I began to apply it to my eyelashes. As I did my eyelashes began to grow and my eyes began to open. It was as if a thin film started falling off of my eyes in pieces. As it did, I began to see so clearly. Everything was clear and bright and magical and better, way better than the old world. It was as if I was living in an augmented reality, where some new, better worldwas superimposed on my old, drabby world. I tried to tell people, “Hey! You guys! Look! You have to try this new mascara. It opens your eyes! I can see things I’ve never seen before! It’s amazing! It’s incredible!” 

But everyone just stared at me. “No,” they said. “We like our old one better.”

“I’d rather just stay with this one. I’m comfortable with it.”

I’m comfortable with it. 

I woke up with the words of Jesus ringing in my ears. “You cannot make anyone see what they don’t want to see. You can’t teach anyone to see what they aren’t able to see.”

And that’s how it is: some people will just not see, they cannot see, or understand. Even other Christians we know, other people who have said “yes” a whole lot. They won’t understand our risks. They won’t understand what it’s like adding the “and” to the “yes.” But that’s what it’s like to be called and chosen and really choose to follow. To partner. And why would we want anything else? 

Yeah, it’s freaking terrifying. Yep, it costs a whole lot. Sure, it’s a sacrifice. But you and I both know, our reward of Jesus far outweighs any of that. We want to see. We want to move. We want to really believe. 

Written by Alicia, Los Angeles, CA

Follow her journey here