Where on the path am I?

Well I just returned from visiting my family in North Carolina and I am operating on two hours of sleep so please overlook any errors that may occur. I saw my parents who are fighting the effects of aging, my neices and nephews are growing up incredibly fast, and my brother and sister are sharing in the transition of mid-life with me. It reminded me of Stephen Covey's thoughts on life where he asks one to draw a line representing your life and then to put an "X" on it where you think you are now living. This exercise initiates a variety of thoughts regarding your health and the evaluation of your priorities. So where do I think I am?

During our visit we sat on a couple of occasions remembering the old home town and the people that were a part of our lives while growing up. It is a lot of fun for us to recall the simplicity and pleasure of our home and its acivities. But as you progress through your life it also reminds you just how far you have traveled in this life journey. Herein lies the morsel of truth I would like you to chew on today.

It is easy to yearn for the good days of the past, even to the extent to where the good days of the future are sacrificed. I believe the recollection of preceding days and their experiences can and should be used to instill a feeling of anticipation for the future. My parent's miss the days of how church happened the way they like it. My siblings and I loved our youthful days and all of us have sought to provide "good" days for our children to remember when they grow older, but I saw two different responses to the reminiscing. One causes an ongoing struggle to reinstitute the old ways and the other builds energy within an ever opening mind which seeks to embrace the new old days.

My illness has not stopped my dreaming of what the future could be, although it has interrupted some of the planning. I want to encourage you that regardless of where your "X" appears on your life's timeline don't relinquish your hope for the future. Our God is of the future. Yes He is also the God of restoration but He does not do this to move us backwards but to have the foundation upon which our future can be built and sustained.

Stay the course my fellow sojourners. We live in the hope; we carry the hope; we share the hope.

See you later down the path.
John