| Peering Through the Tube 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) Many years ago (I believe it was the year that Moses was in preschool) I held a little graduation ceremony in my classroom for 12 delightful five-year-olds. It was the last |
| class that I would teach as “just a teacher� because I was graduating myself that year – I was moving up to the role of Preschool Director. The parents were folded into impossibly small chairs and the children, looking freshly washed, starched and pressed, stood in a line at the front of the room. I planned to make this the finest promotion ceremony ever and the stage seemed perfectly set for just that. I addressed the parents and thanked them for the opportunity to work and play with their children, and then I presented the children with their certificates. I had rolled these certificates into little tubes and I had lovingly tied a big red bow on each one, thinking to myself that not only did they look great; they also wouldn’t get crumpled in the children’s hands so easily. At about the mid-point of the presentation, I started to get a little misty-eyed and several of the moms in the room started to dab at tears. We were rapidly marching straight into the quicksand of end- of-the-school-year nostalgia. Before we sank completely, God came to the rescue by issuing an order to “halt!⠀� through the antics of my now antsy class. As I sang the praises of the children, my eye was caught by a motion to my right and then by a similar sensation to my left. I turned to see what was going on and was surprised to see my entire class peering through their certificate tubes with the intensity of sailors searching for the first sight of land! My recounting of their various milestones and achievements held absolutely no interest for them. They were indifferent to their past accomplishments and they were confidently searching the horizon for what life had to offer next. Now that I have finished my career as a preschool director, I’m not sure I have the same level of confidence as those feisty five-year-olds. The tube that I have been given is not a diploma with a big red bow, but instead is a gleaming white MRI machine. How can I peer though that tube with exuberant anticipation? I would much rather look back to times of perfect health, career accomplishments, or carefree family days. Yet my heart is wiser than my worry-addled head. There is a wonderful future to be glimpsed through that dreaded and noisy tube! The benefit of peering though the tube is this: you can’t see all the distractions of your yesterdays or even the events of today, you can only look ahead. What can be seen through the tube is not a prediction, crystal-ball style, but is a fleeting glimpse of glory, with the certain knowledge that we will not travel alone on that path for even one moment, for we are loved. God did not send his beloved Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world just to then abandon us. No! We are still loved, still cherished and still sheltered in His eternal love. Whether your tube is a rolled up paper with a big bow or an imposing metal machine, remember that a future that has been especially designed just for you lies on the other side. You need only set your sights on the cross and travel on with joy and confidence. Memories are a sweet blessing, but to be sent on to forge ahead is a far greater gift. © 2008 Elizabeth Williams |