Is it possible to miss something from a previous season in life and yet have no regrets about what led you to the current season? I think that is where I am this week. I spent a half hour or so this morning looking through the special Chamber of Commerce edition of my hometown newspaper and enjoying reading the stories about the award winners from the recent Chamber banquet.
As a past keynote speaker and award winner at said banquet (a fact that still amazes me even five years later), I allowed myself a couple of moments of fond reminiscing. But what struck me most in my time of reading this morning was not my own past experience, but the fact that so many of this year’s winners are people I would consider friends. I certainly hope the feeling is mutual. I won’t start naming names. If the feeling is mutual, you know who you are. If it is not, I am providing you with plausible deniability.
When the focus and location of my ministry changed just over three years ago, I didn’t just leave a church family that I love. Note that “love” is in the present tense. That has not changed. I also left a community that I love. Same deal.
Oh, I still sleep, bank, go to the Post Office, and buy groceries in Azle. I still eat, albeit less frequently, in Azle restaurants. I am supremely blessed to get to write a weekly column in that newspaper. But it is not the same. I miss being involved in the Chamber of Commerce and the Azle-area Ministerial Alliance. I miss the Marching Green Pride Boosters. I miss being invited to speak at the various meetings of service organizations and community gatherings. I miss being right smack in the middle of my hometown. I may not have grown up here, but I have lived here twice as long as anywhere else in my life. So this is my hometown.
And if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. As much as I miss all those things, I am certain my ministry focus and location are precisely where God wants them to be for this season in life.
So, connecting back to my original question, what are we to do with the changing seasons of our lives? I think I have three suggestions.
First, appreciate where you have been. Philippians 1:3 says, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” When was the last time you wrote a note, email, or text message to someone who has meant something special in your life? For me, a lot of people I would like to write are already in heaven. But a few of them are still around. Some of them got awards at the Chamber banquet.
Second, make the most of where you are now. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” I look back to the previous season of my life with a great sense of satisfaction about my place in it. I want to look back on the current season the same way.
Third, make sure you are pointed in the direction of where you want to go. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I don’t know if the current focus of my ministry is permanent. I know God used the last season to prepare me for this one. I want Him to use this one to prepare me for the next one. And ultimately, I look forward to hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Our lives matter to Him … every season.
Now, I have some cards to write. How about you?
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