Good Ole’ Days

I’m old enough to remember the “good ole’ days” for sure. I remember when a loaf of bread was 25 cents and gasoline was 45 cents. I was really young, but I remember how different things were back in the 1960’s. I grew up without a lot of money or possessions (aka poor), but I didn’t really realize it because it was fairly normal for that part of rural Kentucky. My parents and grandparents talked about their childhood like it was the good ole’ days too. I think it’s pretty easy to remember to good times of days gone by. We tend to forget the struggles and hardships and hang on to the good things that came out of that time frame.

Job began thinking back to his “good ole’ days” before he lost his family, his possessions and his health. He was a very wealthy and wise man – well loved in his community. Check this out…

2 ‘How I long for the months gone by,

    for the days when God watched over me,

3 when his lamp shone on my head

    and by his light I walked through darkness!

4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

    when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

5 when the Almighty was still with me

    and my children were around me,

6 when my path was drenched with cream

    and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

7 ‘When I went to the gate of the city

    and took my seat in the public square,

8 the young men saw me and stepped aside

    and the old men rose to their feet; (Job 29:2-8 NIV)

This man Job was once an incredible influential man in his community. He was well respected. He was wealthy. He was a rescuer. He was a good neighbor. He was royalty to his community because of his character, his wealth and his gentle spirit. He was now in the midst of the darkest days of his life. His suffering was real and it was lengthy. He desperately wanted to go back to the days of his success and affluence – but here he was in the midst of struggle and suffering.

As I look back to many of my struggles and suffering – it was a short season, but it felt like a lifetime in the midst of it. Whoever first spoke the axiom “this too shall pass” was pretty wise. It’s true but I still wanted to smack the person who said it! The good ole’ days weren’t really all that good. The days we live in now will one day become the “good ole’ days”. I want to do my best to drink in the moments of today with my relationships with family and friends. My circumstances or situation could change drastically tomorrow or a few days after and make me long for this moment in time. I want to live in this moment today. I want to seek the Lord with my whole heart. I may one day need the courage and strength that He is building into me today.

Pressing On!

Dwayne