B-log

The Aughts have given way to the Teens in the 2nd Millennium (according to the Gregorian calendar, anyway). The first decade of the newest century is done. 2010 has closed and 2011 has begun. 

Time marches forward.

Anecdotal evidence (my Facebook, Twitter feeds) suggests 2010 was a difficult year for many. It seems like a lot of people are happy to close the book on last year and put on some sunglasses toward the prospect of a bright 2011. 

Here’s my decade in review, best to worst. The rationale for each year’s placement on the list is relevant only to me and a few others, so I’ll not bog this down with those details:

1. 2002
2. 2009
3. 2008
4. 2005
5. 2004
6. 2003
7. 2001
8. 2007
9. 2006
10. 2010

There’s probably a year’s worth of psychology in this, and I might make some adjustments if I thought about it further. But that’s not the point. The point is, this little exercise is good because it causes you to reflect on the good and the bad. There was so much good that happened over the past ten years. And there was bad, too.

The good isn’t meant to offset the bad. Nor is the bad meant to taint the good. They just co-exist. The bad has the effect of salting the good…making the good that much sweeter when it’s tasted in contrast to the bad. Conversely, the good’s sweetness has the ability to cut into the acidity of the bad.

But then again, maybe I’m just watching too much Cooking Channel.

I’ve heard it said that time is the only one of the four dimensions (along with the three spatial dimensions) within which we can only move in one direction. We cannot stand still in time and we cannot go back in time. At least until Doc Brown gets the Flux Capacitor working.

Despite our inability to “manage time,” we all try to do it. We romanticize the past. We try to control the variables of a good moment in time with the vain hope that it will never change, never end. But nothing ever stays the same. Everything changes. Time marches forward.

Comedian/singer Mark Lowery famously has said something like, “My favorite verse in the Bible is ‘It came to pass.’” He makes the point that your problems come to pass. They don’t come to stay. Some stay longer than others and some problems stay much longer than any of us would prefer. But just as good times eventually draw to a close, so too, do bad ones.

And that’s what I think I really like about “It came to pass.” To me, this oft-repeated passage (approximately 480 times in the King James version) indicates “it happened.” My favorite references (5 times) include the phrase, “in the process of time it came to pass.” My best literal translation is, “At the end of a designated time, it happened that…” This tells me that the events of our life are not random, they are not coincidental. They have been authored. They have been designated. They have been assigned. They have been established. And there is purpose behind what happens.

This helps me understand that if time is indeed marching forward (as every bit of evidence seems to indicate), then it is marching forward toward a destination. The Bible declares that there was a beginning to time (“In the beginning, God…”), and also promises that there will be an end (prophesied in Daniel, 2 Peter 3, and Revelation). Within God’s grand drama of time, our minuscule lives play a part. Things that we think are dramatic or significant…probably aren’t. Things we think are trifling or meaningless…probably have bigger implications than we could ever imagine. How many times have you re-evaluated blessings and burdens through the perspective of hindsight, only to feel completely opposite about an experience than you did when you were going through it in “real time.” Imagine how much more so that will be true when you can evaluate the entirety of your life from the perspective of eternity.

My 2010 stunk (generally speaking) for the last seven-and-a-half months. It was marked by disappointment, frustration, doubt, sadness, and confusion. But this is the truth…It has been a precious year for me. Blessings of devotion, love, support, and fidelity of Kelli, my kids, my extended family, and my dear friends is more meaningful than ever. God has used this time to clarify my personal vision and set the course for my future. He took me out of a good place where I was entirely comfortable and not very dependent upon him, and he did it to show me something better. He has brought me humility and led me to a place where my hope is in him alone. And the events of 2010 had to happen for me to be where I am. And I have to be where I am now to go where he’s leading me next.

And that’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it? Faith. Faith that we’re moving forward in a purposeful direction. Faith that there’s meaning to these days that are good, and even more so that there is meaning to the days that are not so good. Faith that it all matters. The Bible says that even this faith is a gift from God. This faith that he gives is able to rescue your soul and it is able to give the hope of meaning to your days. The faith he provides empowers you to persevere through the bad. 

2011 is here, and like the sand in an hourglass, it’s begun its steady process of passing. If your problems, challenges, or setbacks have come along with you into the new year - or if they’re still ahead - I’m praying for you the same prayer that I’ve learned to pray for myself: that you don’t get trapped in the quicksand of despair, but you lay hold of hope by faith and let God rescue and sustain you.  As someone who didn’t have a “happy” 2010, I no longer think that’s my highest hope for you in 2011.  Instead, I wish for you to have a new year that grows your faith and brings you experiences that you will cherish because you recognize they are meaning, purposeful, and necessary.

I know that doesn’t fit well on a Twitter feed or a FB update, but not every good thought can be jammed into 140 characters.