Nostalgic = “experiencing
or exhibiting nostalgia, a sentimental or wistful yearning for the happiness felt in a former place, time, or situation.”
One of
the “sideshows” of aging is experiencing strong feelings of nostalgia. All it
takes is a certain sound, scent, or sight to take one back – even if just for a
moment – to an earlier time or place in life. In the past week or two I have been
hit with a few strong waves of nostalgia. I received notice of a date and place
for my 40th high school class reunion in August. Old photos and
memories of people long forgotten brought me back to thoughts of being in high
school and a mix of both positive and negative feelings.
I
watched a part of a PBS fundraising program about music on the Ed Sullivan
Show, remembering myself as an 8 year old in the living room watching some of
my sisters and their high school aged friends screaming and more or less going
crazy when the Beatles were introduced. I experience a great deal of nostalgia
through music. It is a powerful thing. I have seen people nearing the end of
their lives mouth the words to old hymns or respond in some way when otherwise
they were basically unresponsive and non-communicative. It’s amazing how deeply
music enters the soul.
I try to
get out most days for a walk, primarily for health reasons. During a recent
warm-up day (one of the few) I came across a lot of water on the streets and
roads. I grew up in a house that was on a small hill. Every Spring the snow
would melt off the hill and the water would run down the sides of the street.
During the winter months city crews had spread a great deal of sand/dirt on the
road whenever they plowed, so in the Spring we had lots to work with. My
friends and I would grab shovels and start moving enough dirt to build dams.
Some of them were quite spectacular feats of engineering in our opinion, holding
back water as far as 20-30 feet. But the most fun was breaching the dam and
watching the water “destroy” all the little things in its path as it resumed
its flow down the street. Going for walks gives you plenty of time to think
about important stuff like this, which in the busyness of life would not likely
occupy your thoughts.
Looking
back can be a positive, heartwarming experience, or it can be a negative,
embittering experience. Hard as people may try – and look quite foolish in the
attempt – we cannot re-create our lives. Hopefully we have learned from the
negative and become wiser persons, and experienced gratitude for the positive.
Memories are a good thing. In 2 Samuel 23 we read about three of David’s “mighty
men” responding to his wishful thinking: "Oh,
that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of
Bethlehem!" (v.23).
They risked their lives and broke through the Philistine lines, secured some of
the water and returned with it one day. David is so overwhelmed at their love and
sacrificial deed that he couldn’t drink it. Instead he poured it out before the
Lord. Do you suppose they were insulted when he did this? I don’t think so. A greater use for the gifts we
receive (than for ourselves) is to give them to the Lord. This memory – this bit
of nostalgia – turned into an opportunity to worship the Lord. Do you think we,
too, could turn our memories into occasions to worship the Lord? Whether our
memories are positive or negative, we can translate them into thanksgiving and
praise in both prayer and, when possible and appropriate, as a witness to
others. Many of my memories lead to the exclamation, “Lord, You really have
been so good to me! Thank You so much for those blessings. And, thank You for
those harder times, through which I grew and came to trust You more.”
May the
Lord become the object of worship in our lives when the memories flood in. May
they be a source of joy, and may healing come to sooth the hurtful memories.
Amen!
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 (NIV) 1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the
days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no
pleasure in them"-- 2 before the sun and the light and
the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; 3 when
the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders
cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; 4
when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding
fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; 5
when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when
the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no
longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the
streets. 6 Remember him--before the silver cord is severed, or
the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or
the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the
ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
PRAYER: Lord, indeed you have been good to me, so I
want to give you thanks. There are some memories I could do without. Would you
please redeem them so that they become something that will lead me to love and
trust you more? In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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