Monday, July 23, 2012

On the way

"take your journey"
Deuteronomy 1:40

Yesterday is gone.   How do you like today?

And what comes after this, for you?  I mean, I know it's tomorrow, but what exactly will that bring? 

It's summer right now, which means we're in between "last year" and "next year" as far as school goes.   So even though it's the middle of the calendar year, it's not the middle of the school year.  'Cause the middle of the school year is when the calendar year is beginning.

Makes perfect sense, right?

I think for most of us, the day we're in is the part of our life that takes up 90% of our focus.  I wish I knew the real number, though.  How much of an average day do I spend thinking about the future?  I've got next year's schooling to think about for my kids.  Books to buy, books to read, lessons to be planned.  I also might have an idea for a Christmas present for a family member, or get an idea for a vacation I'd like to take someday with the family.  Not to mention dinner ideas, and the budget for the next month.

And how often do I give some thought to the past?  When a photo comes across my screen saver, or if we go over to my folks' house for dinner, there might be some reminiscing.  My sister and her family were visiting last week, so there were a few silly stories about childhood mischief.  My kids and my nephew love hearing stories of their parents' misdeeds when we were their age. 

Not that I ever misbehaved...

But where we are in life right now is not just about right now.  It is also part of the journey of where we've been, and we're going.  Think about the movies you've seen of Moses delivering the children of Israel.  The story seems to end after the cross the Red Sea.  Happily ever after awaited them, right?

Wrong.  Forty years in the desert awaited them.  The journey continued.  An exodus is an exit, but it's also an entrance to something else; a journey to the next thing... the next place.

So love where you are.  Live where you are.  But realize that where you've come from is part of where you're going.  It's not a mid-life crisis; it's an exit from what's come before, and an entrance to what's next.

And what's next is wonderful.  Just make sure you go with Him.

"I must journey today, tomorrow, 
and the day following"
Luke 13:33

2 comments:

  1. Food for thought. Good post.

    I can think about a movie I have seen about Moses delivering the children of Israel, but I can't think about movies (plural) that I have seen about Moses delivering the children of Israel. Cecil B. DeMille's was my one and only.

    But I have seen the same one over and over. Does that count?

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  2. I decree that it counts. So let it be written; so let it be done!

    DreamWorks did a great version in 1988, called "Prince of Egypt". It's animated, with great music and an impressive cast of voices including Ralph Fiennes, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Michelle Pfeiffer and Val Kilmer doing both the voice of Moses and ~ would you believe? ~ the voice of God. Not just for kids ~ I highly recommend it.

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