Back in the Day (Titus 3:3-7)

I remember as a kid hanging out with old people. Maybe it was my grandparents or maybe the elderly neighbors. After I would be done cutting the grass or helping change a light bulb for them or something like that, there would always be some sweet tea or lemonade to follow. As much as this sounds weird, I loved hanging out with older people. I don't think it was because of the moth ball scent in the room, the floral furniture or the shag carpet as much as it was the conversation. I loved sitting down and hearing stories from the past. My Granddaddy loves to tell stories from his war days in Korea, or talk about his heart attacks and previous health issues. My Grandmother would tell me stories of her days of singing on the radio or causing trouble with the boys. My Martymom (mom's mom) used to tell stories about my mom and my uncle and we would laugh so hard about things they did. I also loved my neighbor. Her name was Terpsathea, Terpsy for short. She was an incredible woman. She invited me over one day even though I would constantly kill birds with BB guns in her yard. (I know, I was terrible). She loved animals especially birds. Her backyard was like a bird sanctuary. She had dozens of feeders and even a little man made pond for fish and frogs. She was getting older and she couldn't cut the grass anymore so she would invite me over to work, but looking back at it, I think it was just to talk. She would tell me some awesome stories of her life. She would teach me how to play the harpsichord. One day when we were playing music she had me sing with her and through that I grew a passion for singing and have been doing it ever since. I just loved to sit and talk with Terspy. She would start off every sentence with, "Well, in my day....." . I loved hearing about her past, it was amazing to me. It was as if the old Terpsy that she would talk about was a completely different person. I remember sitting there thinking, I am never gonna get old, I am never going to look back at my past and talk about how things used to be. I would always be hip and relevant to today........
Well it only took me graduating from school, getting married and having kids to introduce the words, "Back in the day" into my vocabulary. Whether it is explaining why I can't run as fast, jump as high, or throw as far when I am around young and able bodied teenagers or maybe it comes up when I confront my own children for complaining about what they don't have or what they want....."Back in the day" is something I bring up often. You know having a healthy memory of your past, your experiences, can be an awesome tool for a good today. Not just when you are trying to legitimize your physical deterioration on the football field, or when you are sitting around talking about how good life used to be to somehow someway make life in this depraved world seem a little easier to cope with.

Remembering where you came from is essential to a follower of Christ. First it helps you be thankful for what He has done for you. It only takes a moment to look at my life before Christ, remember the road I was headed and be so overwhelmed with thanksgiving at where He has taken me now. It also helps to remember where you came from so you can sympathize with the struggles of others. It is so easy in our lives to dive head first into the Christian "culture "and our little "sub-cultures" called churches and youth groups and forget about what it was like to be lost. To have no hope other than our own abilities to make things better or safer. No assurance that God loved us, no peace that He is there. I challenge you to add "back in the day" to your normal everyday language when it comes to telling your story with words and actions. May where you have come from be in the past in action; but on the front of your mind and on the tip of your tongue. May we joyfully be reminded that we have been taken from being fools ourselves, disobedient, enslaved to lust, malice, anger and hatred. That from that place God poured out His kindness and love through Jesus Christ. He didn't do it because we deserved it, rather he did it because that is who He is.
Read through Titus 3:3-7
So as you finish reading this, journal some of your back in the day thoughts.......
Then journal some of your thoughts when you first came to Christ........
Then journal some thoughts about what life for you is like now...........

I pray your "back in the day" moments would draw you closer to the one who delivered you from the past and set you free from the guilt and shame.