Strain

“There were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven.” Jack Johnson

“I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” Galileo Galilei

“…This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind…” The Apostle Paul, from Philippians 3:13-15

It’s hard, this work of not looking back.

There’s a reason we call them the “good old days,” after all.

Selective memory is an amazing thing. We forget that there weren’t dishwashers, microwaves and air conditioners…back in the good old days. There weren’t 1000 other conveniences that we take for granted today.

Undoubtedly, a lot of bad things do exist now that didn’t exist “back then.” But still, it’s amazing to witness our human propensity for looking back through time with a misty, rose-colored lens.

I’m always fascinated to hear my grandparents fondly reminisce about the days they spent picking cotton in the 100+ degree heat and humidity of West Tennessee. They would eat cold biscuits and beans for lunch, and at the end of the day, get paid a few cents for every pound of cotton they had picked. A mighty and gifted cotton-picker might pick 200 pounds on a great day. Translation: hardest work you could ever do from sun up to sundown = $5.00. Maybe.

Good times, good times.

Educational opportunities were largely non-existent. Social problems like poverty and alcoholism were rampant. Illiteracy was common. Racism was an assumption and segregation was the law.

Remind me again…which was the “good” part of the good old days?

I think I know. When I listen closely to the stories, and pay real attention in those treasured moments when the verbal goldmine of my family history comes down the generations to my ears, some common themes emerge.

Family. Relationships. Simplicity.

There is truth in that remembrance. I do believe that hard work is good for a person (and that preachers don’t do enough of it). I believe that families were closer because they lived together, worked together, and saw each other every day. I’ve also got to believe that meant they fought like cats and dogs.

True, folks spent time on their front porches at the end of long summer days. And they still hated to see certain neighbors heading over to those porches, just like they do today. It just wasn’t all fresh-squeezed-lemonade-Waltons-Americana.

Please understand, there’s not a thing in the world wrong with honoring what was good in the past.

We just can’t live in it. And sometimes, that’s hard for all of us.

It’s especially hard when we face a big future, wide-open and full of possibility. Even the biggest dreamers and visionaries can’t guarantee what comes next, but all of us can look back and remember their own, best version of the past with certainty.

Believing in God, and following Jesus, means moving forward.

From the very beginning, God just hasn’t wanted his people spending much of their time with necks craned backward. Just ask Lot’s wife.

There was a time when life was simpler. The stars were just holes to heaven, and nobody asked too many questions.

We don’t live there anymore, and even with all its problems, when we’re honest, I think we know that life is better today than it was yesterday. Christian faith says that life tomorrow will be better still.

We can’t prove it, but we believe it, and we’re called to live it.

The same God that created all that exists, creates our tomorrow. He was and is at the outer reaches of our expanding (or contracting) universe, and his eye “is on the sparrow,” tiny and insignificant though it is.

Whatever you’re waiting on…stop waiting.

Move. Step. Strain. Press.

“Let us be of the same mind.”

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

It’s almost time for Vacation Bible School at SOTH! Bunches and bunches of kids from our community will take part, and we always need more volunteer help. VBS will be held July 10th through 14th, 9 a.m. till noon, for kids 2 years-old through fifth grade. Call the SOTH office at 770-920-1551 or e-mail Children’s Director Kathryn Beasley at Kathryn@sothumc.net

SOTH member and world-renowned magician and entertainer Bill Clary will be performing two fundraiser shows at SOTH on the evening of July 22. There will be a ticket rally at the church on July 8th with volunteers available from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. to sell tickets and talk to the community about the show. All proceeds will support our “Communications Team” in their efforts and work with Details Communications.

Details is an outstanding church outreach and marketing company that SOTH will be partnered with over the next several months. Look for a complete re-design of our logo, website, newsletter, bulletin, and maybe even the “soth blog!” Details will do a wonderful job helping SOTH articulate our identity and mission to the community.

Also on July 22, Lifeover Ministries, a mission and outreach team from SOTH will host a classic and custom car show in the Douglasville First UMC parking lot. All funds raised will support Lifeover’s work with our rapidly growing “kids’ closet,” where kids and families in need can come and find free, quality clothing for their youngsters. Thanks to DFUMC for their partnership with us in this great ministry!

SOTH LAND UPDATE: D.S. Jacqui Rose-Tucker conducted our church conference this Sunday, and SOTH members voted to sell the entirety of our current property at the corner of Chapel Hill and Dorsett Shoals Rds. This decision will enable us to acquire new property in the community, build larger buildings for ministry and relieve our current debt level. The future is wide open, and we ask for your prayers as SOTH steps forward in faith!