WHAT GOOD OLD DAYS?

One of my favorite movies is called, "Second Hand Lions", with Michael Caine and one of my favorite actors, Robert Duvall. He's ranked right up there with John Wayne on my list of favorites ever since he played the part of Augustus McRea in "Lonesome Dove". Anyway, back to my thought, there's a scene in the movie where the two of them are sitting on the front porch of their run down old house and Michael Caine's character is talking about some past memory. Mr. Duvall's character makes the comment, as only he can; "There ain't nothing sadder than a couple of old has-beens, sitting around talking about the good old days".
And you know... he's right. What's amazing about it, though, is that every single generation has their own definition of what exactly made "the good old days" good. If we'll allow our minds to wander just a bit, every single one of us, regardless of our age, could come up with a memory that prompts us to look back with fondness and wish we could go back... even if it was just for a day.
It's not that we miss the day as much as we miss the feeling... the emotion... or the sheer thrill of some past experience. Part of what we miss has been stolen by the passing years. Maybe stolen isn't a good word... maybe forfeited is more accurate. And what I mean, is that for a lot of us, that kind of return is impossible because of the fact that we've changed... we're different now than we were then.
We've all grown. And by growth, I mean we've been forced to leave our child-likeness behind. We've been, through no fault of our own, forced to leave a lot of our innocence and our curiosity back there in the past. This is not altogether a bad thing... nor is it an altogether good thing, either. Its just the way it is.
But the truth of the matter is that for someone, somewhere... THESE days will be their good old days. They'll look back on today with a fondness and a special attachment. Because today, someone will feel THE feeling we're talking about... someone will experience THE emotion or THE thrill of their lifetime. The good old days have nothing to do with the days... or whether they're good or not... it's about our attachment to what happens.
As much upheaval and uncertainty as is present in our culture and our society today, there are still things that will impact our lives in a positive and wonderful way... if we'll only allow it. I can remember with fondness the excitement of the 4th Of July Parade through the streets of the small town I grew up in. It WAS a big deal... People were patriotic, proud of their country, and unashamed to show it. I seem to remember EVERYONE having a flag to wave... even if it was a small one. When the veterans marched by, sandwiched between the marching bands, people lining the streets would salute and shout words of thanks and encouragement to them. Without getting political here, just think about what you're witnessing all over the land today.
Patriotism isn't dead. In fact, patriotism is alive and well. Large groups of patriotic people have begun to gather in public places to voice their opposition to what they see as an out of control, oppressive government. God bless 'em! Thomas Jefferson said; "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty".
And in the pictures I've seen of some of these gatherings, I've seen families standing together with their small children. And to some of these small children, TODAY will someday be one of the good old days to them. A day they remember with fondness and attachment.
What we... and by we, I mean all of us who think that the good old days are far behind us, what we need to do is allow ourselves to get attached to today. Who says today can't be one of the good old days, come tomorrow?
My bride and I have 6 grand kids... and we love every one of them, but the youngest is our 18 month old grandson that my wife babysits several days a week, and I can truthfully say without any equivocation that he could care less about what's happening in our nation's capital. He's having a ball at MeeMaw's house. I'm watching with my own eyes, this little guy grow up at an amazingly fast pace. And I can honestly say that THESE days are rapidly becoming my good old days. I know it's overstating the obvious here, but he's only going to be this age ONCE... and I've determined I'm going to enjoy it.
I've figured out that the good old days don't have anything to do with the past... they have everything to do with HOW we perceive and receive what's happening now... TODAY. Far too many of us miss what's happening now because we're still busy trying to RE-capture some long past feeling or emotion. And you know what?... THAT'S a shame.
As Christians, we should be living our lives with an enthusiasm and with a genuine zest for life. We should be excited about tomorrow instead of longing for yesterday. Stop and think about it... is it any wonder the lost and dying aren't breaking down the doors of our churches to get in and grab hold of the truths of the gospel that we've been shown and given? Is it any wonder there's not a long line of people trying to get what we've got? The fact of the matter is that for the most part, they can't SEE what we've got. And the truth is, most of them couldn't care less about how much fun we had making the drag on Saturday night, in the summer of '66 in our shiny clean 1950 model Ford. They couldn't care less about the night we set the "official" record for circling the Courthouse 150 times, IN REVERSE!!!
Maybe they WOULD get interested if they could see in you and I, the joys of a life in Jesus Christ TODAY... and an excitement about tomorrow... and a faith and belief that the real reason we're excited about tomorrow is because day after tomorrow, tomorrow will be one of the good old days everyone keeps wanting to talk about today.
The word of God exhorts us to forget about the past and not worry about tomorrow... but live our lives TODAY... with a fullness, an exuberance, a zest, and a joyful anticipation. WOW... what a neat idea...
I gotta go for now, though... I'm going to dig through some boxes to see if I can find that old 4 track tape player I've got somewhere. Not because I want to see if it will still work... my oldest son doesn't believe there ever was such a thing... But anyway, It's Just A Thought.