I didn’t understand 25 years ago when my mother said, ‘Where did the time go?” But at 79, I know exactly what she was talking about. Last weekend made it even more clear…time has moved on.

It struck me  as Mary & I drove into the parking lot of the May Branch Inn. BAM! This is the same place I stayed 72 years ago when we were moving to Hamburg and looking for a place to live. The original Jackson Tourist Court cottages have been replaced with awesome modern cottages. But it was right there…on this plot of land that my family brought our hopes, dreams & fears. Little did any of us know, the wonderful people who would impact our lives, how a quiet, uncomplicated small-town culture would be a classroom for developing strong values and how God would use these times to reveal His Blessings. Simply put, it was Growing Up Hamburg.

Over the weekend I saw places and people I had not seen in 50 years. It’s the memories like the old Jackson Tourist Court that remain living color in my heart. It’s those memories that seem so fresh, “it’s just like they were yesterday,” this is what my mother was talking about.

For much of my life I had double vision. I was looking at the Present with my eye on the Future. Nothing wrong with that but it has a downside. In fact, most of our culture lives with this strategy. But it’s the past where we find the secrets…the wisdom to face the future.

God knows we are a people focused on “NOW!” But nothing has changed. All through the ages God has had to remind His people, “Never Forget Me!” In fact,  God reminds His people, then & today, “nearly 70 times throughout Scripture” (Google) that He is the God of Redemption. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’” Numbers 15:41. Only He has the Power to Redeem and Transform.

Maybe you have been so focused on the “now” of today that it has created anxiety from the uncertainty of tomorrow. If you have, I have a recommendation.

1. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
2. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
3. Now recall & ponder the Blessings. This is where you recall how God has “brought you out” of your bondage.” As we drove by my childhood friend Randy’s house in the country, I noticed the huge oak tree was gone but not the memory of the time when the bag swing chain broke, I hit the ground knocking the wind out of me. I remember “flailing and flopping” on the ground like a fish out of the water trying to catch my breath. This was one of many times, “He Brought me out!
4. Now it’s time to face the future with God’s Word. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:11-14
5. And NOW trust Jesus when He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28

Isn’t it time you gave Him time? When you care enough… you give Him your very best. After all, that’s what He did for you and me. John 3:16-17