Valuable Lesson

Yesterday was a day in which my wife and I were able to witness a wonderful accomplishment in the life of our oldest grandchild.  We were able to witness his "graduation" from elementary school.  Many of you are like myself as these moments become moments of personal reflection not only about your personal life but also the life of your children and grandchildren.  We use these moments to take time to examine our life and in some cases we even examine the purpose of our life.  It seems that there are occasions in which God will take the every day experiences of life and reveal spiritual matters to me.  Was that the reason that Jesus used parables to teach the people of His day and time?  He would use the common experiences of life or He would use examples from their present world to lead them into a deeper understanding of spiritual principles that would affect their relationship with God.  I truly believe that God uses those same principles to deposit spiritual truths in our lives or at least He uses "moments of life" to awaken our hearts to thoughts that need our attention.

As I sat in the High School gymnasium I reflected on the passage of scripture that is very familiar to many of us.  It is the passage found in James 4:14, "whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (NJKV).  I could sense that the Lord was not speaking this scripture to me in the sense of fear or impending doom rather I could sense the calming influence of the Holy Spirit as I began to open my heart to God.  I watched a young man walk across that gym floor and be recognized for an accomplishment that was six years in the making.  It seemed that it was only yesterday that I was the chauffeur of a five year old to his kindergarten classes.  We had our own way to count down the last few minutes of our time at home before we stepped out into the real world of a five year old on his way to school.  We would watch the clock on the microwave until 8:33 and then we knew that it was time to leave for school.  There was a certain place on our journey where we began our prayer time; some days I would leave off some of the family member's names from our prayer time just to see if our grandson was paying attention.  He would speak up right on cue and say, "Poppy, you forgot to say" and he would proceed to call that person's name.  Where did those days go and how quick those days have evaporated?  Those days are now memories for an aging grandfather and a maturing grandson to share and we did share some of those memories yesterday.

You are probably thinking, "Where is the lesson that God was teaching?'  It simply sounds and reads like a nostalgic old man simply remembering the good ole days that have come and gone.  But I do feel that it goes deeper than those thoughts.  God desired for me to ponder and reflect on my life.  Those days have evaporated; they are only memories that will become more precious as time moves forward.  I can neither add too or take away from those results no matter how much I try or no matter how much I desire to change them or even relive them.  Those days are forever gone and what impact those days have made are already written in the annals of history.  But here is the principle that God was placing in my heart; my today and my tomorrows have not evaporated as of yet.  I still have an opportunity to make a difference in this world.  I still have an opportunity to influence the lives of people in a very positive manner.  I can not change anything from yesterday but I can make the proper adjustments for today.  How will I chose to spend my today and how will I choose to spend the tomorrows God gives to me?   I am given the ability to remember my yesterdays but I must choose to live in my today.  I must live my life in such a manner that I am being a blessing to others and a servant to the Lord God Almighty.  Do not become captured by your yesterdays; those days have evaporated (James 4:14) but choose to live your live in such a manner that pleases God so that you can look back on your yesterday and feel confident that you have made a difference in the lives of people in your sphere of influence.