stuck in the past

There are two chapters in my life that ended years ago that I still miss. One is my 25-year National Guard career and the other is the dozen or so years I spent singing with a quartet. Sometimes it can be hard to move on.

In 1 Samuel 16:1, the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

Samuel got stuck at a certain point in the story of God’s people and couldn’t move past it. God had wonderful years in mind for Israel, but first Samuel had to get over to Bethlehem and anoint the new king. 

It reminds me not to linger in the past. It reminds me that life has chapters, and the best ones are often at the end of the book. It reminds me that following God will lead me forward, not back, and that even though life will constantly change, the important fact of His providence won’t.

My kids have grown, and my grandkids are growing. I have a financial planner now, because although not imminent, retirement is in sight. My aging body doesn’t go the miles as willingly as it used to. It would be easy to think of the good years already gone, and assume the ones coming won’t be as good.

But I keep finding myself in new situations where I’m surprisingly effective. With age comes context, even if it’s just knowing what the mistakes look and feel like. I find I can see clarity and simplicity in things that seem complicated. I can use that to help people, to calm them, to walk them through. It blesses them and me.

Being a soldier and a singer, along with a hundred other experiences, made me who I am right now. And right now, God has things going on that will thrill me, if I just stay with the program.