Tuesday, October 7, 2008

a few thoughts about Scott's sermon on Sunday

Scott is doing a "Truth in the Movie" series this month at our church.
On Sunday, he highlighted the movie Meet the Robinsons.
The message of the movie is this: KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
It seems simple enough.
Paul says it like this in Philippians 3,
"Forgetting what is behind and straining torward toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus."

But the way Scott phrased it struck me.
He said, "Forgetting what is behind, and then he said,"both the bad and the good..."
Now why would he say I need to forget the good times that are behind me?
Because I really like the good old days. I enjoy revisiting them.
But I have been mulling and pondering, tsgs.
Sometimes the goodness of my yesterday
keeps me from experiencing today and looking toward my tomorrow.
Because I get stuck thinking...
If only I could look the way I looked before I birthed 3 nine lb babies
(I feel real bad for my stomach sometimes)
or be that person I was when I travelled the world
(I miss you France and Amsterdam...I really do)
or be on staff with our friends instead of branching out into a new ministry
(Shout outs to the 3CA and NCC crews!).
It's so easy for me to look backward instead of moving forward.
Even this week I couldn't help thinking,
"Remember last week... that 2 minute and 17 second time period,
when the living room was clean? Those were some good times.
I miss you last week's 2 minutes and 17 seconds of living room cleanliness!"
And all the while I am missing the brand new 2 minutes and 17 seconds RIGHT NOW.
Almost every day, I forget the preciousness of NOW and the goal of LOOKING AHEAD.
Even though my NOW might seem really poopy or very terrible or so boring,
(Sweet hosannas, is it possible that I am doing laundry again? Oh yes. Yes, it is.)
Being aware of my NOW helps me move towards my FUTURE. The future God has for me.
If I keep focusing on yesterday's good things, I will surely miss today's good things
and forget to remember there a number of good things in store for me tomorrow.
I need to keep moving forward.
And who knows? My FUTURE may even include a brand new
2 minutes and 17 seconds of living room cleanliness.
I like to dream big, tsgs. I really do.

for your enjoyment....Little Wonders from Meet the Robinsons



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5 comments:

Jessica Stock said...

yes, I need to remember to live in the moment, and I am more guilty of idealizing the past and not want things to change. this was great.

Char said...

I think the commenter hit the nail on the head - I think forgetting the good and bad is about embracing the moment and allowing ourselves to enjoy the coming.

we cannot hit a homerun with our foot still on first base.

Jodie | Velour said...

This is so great and it is an interesting perspective. Surely it's good to let go of the bad behind us, but you're right... it's good to let go of the good too, if it's holds you back instead of propelling you forward. Good stuff you got here Sue. I like it alot. [Ah lok it alawt!]

Carrie said...

This is so true- for me, it's the fun in the past when we used to live near family and friends...and also, I spend way too much time daydreaming about the future- when I have five kids and they're all obedient and helpful and kind, etc, etc...when I should be focusing on enjoying my one 10-month old son. :)

.g. said...

I needed this today.

Thank you for the reminder to live in the moment.
: )