DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- STRETCH IT OUT!

STRETCH IT OUT!

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14).

It is a common thing among senior citizens – this living in the past. Many of us have short-term memory loss, but we can remember the good old days like it was yesterday. Man, things were good back in the 1950s. I think that was the best of times. I could roam my city without fear. It was a prosperous time economically. Having fun with friends. But I forget the struggles I had as a teenager, finding out who I was and what my life would be. I forget the fear of the cold war and hiding under the school desks during air raid drills. I forget that the USSR put a man in space before America did and the fear that they would control space. I remember waking up at night in thunderstorms imagining that we were being attacked by missiles from Russia, never mind that I lived a hundred miles from Portland.

Paul said, "I do one thing." Forgetting the past – both the good and the bad, I reach toward the future for the prize of the upward call. The past is over and done with. I can't change a thing. But I can look forward to what God has planned for tomorrow or next year. I can live in the past or I can look forward with anticipation to what God might do in the future – in myself, in my church, in my world.

The picture of reaching forward to the things that are ahead is of a runner in a race stretching the length of his stride toward the finish tape. I remember a track coach urging his runners to "stretch it out" – that is, lengthen your stride. At this time in life, it is not the time to slack off. It is the time to "stretch it out."

The future belongs to those who grasp it. So, go for the gold.

Love, Dad