The present of a present presence

“About every ten years, you have a
chance to look back on your life and, when you do, you can see the ways
the Spirit has touched you, moved you, maybe even shoved you in certain
directions. And the Spirit of God is there in the least likely of
places, in the least likely of people, in everyone you’ve known and
loved. And the Spirit has touched you through all of them. You’ll be
able to say, ‘There’s the Spirit,’ and ‘Oh, look, there’s the Spirit
again!’ What you know in the present is that you have to make decisions,
you have to answer the questions your life and ministry bring you.
Later, as you begin to reflect, you’ll begin to understand that if the
Spirit was there with you in the past, the Spirit is with you now, and
will be with you as you move into the future. If you want to know how
the Spirit is working in your life, just look in the rearview mirror
every once in a while.”

--Tom Talley

One of the problems with moving forward is that there are times that require looking back--and not with nostalgia.

I was recently visiting with a friend who is a Vietnam veteran, describing "then" and "now."

He
described it like this: "When I came home, I sort of put all that
stuff in a package. You know, when I was in country, we always said
"When I get back to the world, I'm gonna...etc. etc." It was sort of
like Vietnam was "another world." I knew it was a temporary world.
What I learned to survive there wasn't much use to the world I live in
now. But it was VERY useful to the world I was in at the time--it
helped me survive. But sometimes I am surprised at how that package
opens itself when I am not expecting it."

I think when any of us
think back to what we would consider "traumatic life experiences," the
"other worldliness" is very evident. They are places we don't care to
look because they are laced with adrenalin and obscured in a cloud of
fear. There is a heaviness to them. There are feelings of loss of
control that people describe as being "trapped" or "paralyzed" or
"feeling reeled in, unable to get any traction to resist."

I know
for me, those things feel like I am trolling with a fishing rod in calm
water, and suddenly hooked Leviathan. I can no longer control the
direction in which the boat is going.... Read more at Kirkepiscatoid, part of the CCblogs network.