The Good Old Days

Quite often I hear people talking about the good old days.  There are songs and poems written about when life was easier and the times were simpler.

If you ever spend time around people who are old (like Larry Lepard)  you’ll hear them talk about the past very fondly.  They describe all of their accomplishments and how difficult it was to walk to school uphill both ways.  What you don’t often hear is all of the day-to-day struggles that they had in their lives.  You don’t hear about the muscle cramps, roads closed due to construction, and little annoyances that kept them from getting the job done easily.

Why is it that when we look back at the “good old days” we gloss over all the little things that made us struggle?  I think that this is because time gives us perspective.  Sure those little things are a major pain in the butt today, but when we look back at them five years from now we’ll barely even remember them.  Instead we’ll remember the big things that happened.  We’ll remember the first car we owned, not all the money we put into keeping the thing running.  We’ll remember the first person of the opposite sex we kissed, not all those that thought we had cooties. 

The question this week is how often you’ve looked back at the past and found all the ways that God worked in your life.  You’ll easily remember when He put your spouse into your life, when the kids or grandkids were born, etc.  But when you look closely at any specific day, do you see all the small things He's done each and every day?  The friend who called right when you needed someone?  The person who opened the door when your hands were full?  How about the neighbor who put your paper on the step to keep it from getting wet in the thunderstorm?

God shows up each and every day in our lives, and often it’s easy to overlook all the encounters we’ve had.  Now I don’t think God expects us to see every little thing that He does in our lives, and I really don’t think He expects us to remember them ten years from now.  My suggestion to you today is to enjoy the encounters when you do see Him in your life.  Remember that He is always there and always has been before.