Seasons of Life… May 7, 2008
You know, it is funny how different seasons of life bring different priorities and perspective. I remember when I was in high school and my priorities involved having a nice car, a decent job, and impressing as many people as possible. My life revolved around these things. Then I graduated and went on to college where my priorities shifted to getting better grades so I could land a high paying job. The kind of car I was driving did not matter as much because I knew that when I got the job that I wanted I could afford something better. Then Kim and I started getting serious and the priorities shifted to just being able to afford an engagement ring, though I new she did not care how big it was. Next, the Lord called me into youth ministry and I no longer cared about my grades at U of M, but only about what came next. Then we got married and I started to look at how I could provide for my family. Then we moved to Louisville and I started to concern myself with a new church, another degree, and getting “grown up” life started. Then we found out we are pregnant and I started to look at how I could possibly provide for my wife and a kid. Today, I finished my last final and the only thing left is to walk across the stage and get the degree. Two years after moving to Louisville this stage is coming to an end. Now I look ahead to what is next.
Through all of the stages of life that I have gone through, there are a couple constants. One is that there is always a next. There is always something that will come. I have not reached the final stage of life, nor do I expect to anytime soon. Second, there has always been provision. Through all of the different seasons of life I have faced, God has always provided. From the concern about a car when I was sixteen, to the worries about being able to have a child, God has always provided. So as I look into what is ahead, the what next, I remember the what has been. God knows the plan He has for my life and it is not to harm me, but to prosper me and on this I trust.
And with that I am challenged to remain faithful to the now. To not get anxious about that which will come nor to reflect too much about what has been, but to seize the opportunity to serve in the now.
