Caught Somewhere in Time

“Caught Somewhere In Time.”

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJV)

Well the school year has begun. My travel to work has to start earlier because of the buses and I have had to find a way around some of the hot spots. My son has entered high school and my daughter has entered middle school. Their homework has gotten a bit more complicated for them this school year and I have had this realization. I am now back in high school and middle school because of this. WHAT? Not like in a backward teenage way but in a “Did we learn this when I was in school at this age?” No way!

So I got to thinking during my over, under, sideways, down drive to work what would it be like if I had to go back to that time period knowing what I know now. What could have I avoided, what could I have changed and would it really have put me where I wanted to be. Then I heard God laugh. “You are where I want you to be.” What? Driving to a job where most of the time it is a devil’s playground. In a town where most of the population’s thinking has the Devil’s mentality attached to it and they ring your lunch up at the cash register with what looks like a bone through the nose. What? Surely the Lord meant me to be somewhere else by now? “Nope, you are where I want you to be” and then there’s a little more laughter. Grrr!!

So what do I do with this? Go to Scripture, of course. Well I found something in Ecclesiastes that set something into motion. “Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.”(ESV) This vexation that Solomon speaks of is finding the pleasures of sin that will lead to other intolerable sorrows. And the object here is to steer a young man away from those “sorrows” that presently gratify the senses of man and get him to understand that this is vanity.

So I reckon myself that going back in time is futile and worthless. That since this train of thought serves no purpose in eternity it is eternally useless thinking. And as my Nelson Study Bible puts it “Tragically, youth does not last; it too passes like a vapor. We all seem to discover that "we get old too soon and smart too late." Well at this point in time I have my youthful outlook but I am working at the getting smarter part along the way.

One thing I will say that was smart for me to do was to surrender what I was back then over to the Savior who has me where He wants me right now. So I guess I will just have to deal with it. There will always be some extreme out in the world that will make me shake my head and wonder but as the Teacher does say…this too is vanity. Oh well, I better get back to helping my kids with their homework, I do know something they don’t. What do you know this morning? If you know Jesus then you’ve done your homework…give yourself an A!! -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contibutor to Freedom Fighter. I have appreciated Chris sharing this week so that I could enjoy our trip to Bermuda. Thanks, Chris!!!

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 28; Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

Great quote:“Father, make us more like Jesus. Help us bear difficulty, pain, disappointment, and sorrow, knowing that in Your perfect working and design You can use such bitter experiences to mold our characters and make us more like our Lord. We look with hope to the day when we will be completely like Christ, because we will see Him as He is…My passions are crucified, there is no heat in my flesh, and a stream flows murmuring inside me-deep down in me saying, “Come to the Father.” Ignatius “His prayer before he was devoured by lions in Rome A.D.111”

It is not to late to enjoy a day of golfing fun and fellowship at Hanover Golf Club on September 29, 2009 to benefit the Colony of Mercy Addiction Recovery Ministry of America’s Keswick. We will have a 7:30 AM and a 12:30 PM shotgun start. There are still some openings for either start time. Call Stan Marsh @ 1-800-453 7942 x 32 for info or to make your reservation.