Just Like the Good Ol' Days

Remember the good ol' days?The good ol' days can be described radically differently depending on our age, neighborhood, status in life, etc. Some people call the 1950's the golden age, and yet people who live in the 50's may not see it that way. Woody Allen's recent film Midnight in Paris is a case-study in nostalgia - the remembering of a time for all of its greatness and none of its warts.

In our relationship with God, we may have good ol' days. We may have times of closeness and richness, holiness and fruitfulness that warm our minds and hearts when we remember them.

They may also be polar opposites of what we find today.

Our prayers may be thick and difficult to wade through.

Our acts of service seems dry, dull and uninspired.

Our reading of Scripture has become an academic exercise at best, and at worst a duty we feel earns us some kind of street cred with the Almighty.

We love because we have to, but we're certainly not going to do it out of desire to love that rascal God has put in our path.

It's important to remember that the primary message of the Bible is change - transformation, rebirth, rescue, liberation, new creation, resurrection - these are all words that refer to a "you were once...but now you are..." scenario.

All relationships change as they grow. Change doesn't mean evil, it just means different.

Just as sustaining a marriage means relinquishing the idea that it will always feel the way the first year feels (both the good and the bad), our relationship with God will change as we age and live and experience things.

Today, don't long for your relationship with God as it used to be. Pray for a vision of what it is and what it will be as you surrender the you of the future "good ol' days" to Him.

I write this today because I am walking through this valley myself on a regular basis. Come Holy Spirit, be my guide.