Posts Tagged: the past

“Multitiming”

On July 31, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Multitiming is a word that is not recognized by my spellchecker. However, I think that multitiming should be given official status. The word is built just like the word “multitasking—doing or trying to do more than one thing at the same time.”

I would provisionally define multitiming as follows: “multitiming, noun; the tendency to drag the past and/or the future into the present.”

You can see from the definition that this is a very common tendency. That is probably why multitiming is not an official word. Who needs a special word for something that is so normal, so human?

However, is dragging the past or future into the present really so normal? Or is such action just the usual human reality? Sometimes we get confused, thinking that what is usual is also normal. Worse yet, we may convince ourselves and one another that the usual is inevitable, or even good.

Now, I will admit that multitiming can be a good, healthy thing. Remembering the past and learning from it is good. So is anticipating and preparing for the future. If living in the present means ignoring the past and the future, then living in the present is pathological. Maybe I need to revise my provisional definition of multitiming in order to recognize its positive possibilities. Here goes! “multitiming, noun; the tendency to bring the past and/or the future into the present, either for good or for ill.”

However, far too often, I am not practicing healthy multitiming. I am not learning from the past or planning appropriately for the future. Instead, I am wallowing in the past and worrying about the future. I have had this tendency since I can remember. Covid-19 has accentuated this tendency (especially the worry about the future), but this virus did not create my unhealthy relationship with the past and future.

I have noticed that the people whom I know the best and respect the most are people who practice good multitiming, and avoid the bad. They are in touch with the past, but they are not anchored to it. Such healthy people anticipate and plan, but they don’t terrify themselves with dystopian videos of the future. And such people live in the present, doing what they need to do in this moment. They also generally enjoy the present moment. Healthy multitimers are living Serenity Prayers: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

What sort of multitimer will you and I choose to be today?

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“The Past and Its Closed Doors”

On February 21, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer


“We move forward, only forward. The doors behind us are closed forever.

Facing what comes to us, with strength, is a gift from this program we share. Letting go of the yesterdays and the last years is another gift offered by this program. And trust that what we face along with what we let go will weave the pattern of our rightful unfolding–that is the ultimate gift given to us by this program.

I need never go back again. I am spared that. My destiny lies in the future. And I can be certain it will bring me all that I desire, and more.”

(From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey)

“Forgetting what lies behind . . .” (Philippians 3:13, The Apostle Paul)

When a door closes behind me—whether it closes quietly, squeaks, or slams—I tend to turn around.  This may be prudent when it comes to literal doors.  It is definitely unwise when it comes to a door in the fabric of time.

Perhaps it would be better for me to think of closed doors as something “I am spared . . . ,” as Casey says.

I was recently watching a bit of a T.V. show (“Timeless” perhaps?) about a team of people and their attempt to thwart bad past events.  I was lost.  Now, I had never watched the show before, and that may have been part of the problem.  Also, I came into this particular episode in the middle of things.  However, I suspect that the main reason I was so lost was simply this: In the story world of “Timeless,” changing the past is a very difficult thing to do.

In truth, changing anything is tricky.  Changing the past, even if it were possible, is the law of unintended consequences on steroids.

In Philippians 3:1-14, the Apostle Paul listed some of the wonderful gifts he had been given, and his accomplishments in his B.C. (“Before Christ”) days.  He then precedes to say that these things are now “rubbish” to him.

And then Paul says one of the wisest, most contradictory things ever said.  He says that he “forgets” what is behind (verse 13).

Now, I will admit that, at first blush, this does not seem wise.  In fact, it sounds completely contradictory.  How can you say that you are forgetting certain things, when you just made an itemized list of those very things?

Studying Hebrew and Greek gave me a new slant on remembering and forgetting.  In both Hebrew (which Paul knew) and in Greek (in which he wrote) the words for “remembering” and “forgetting” can refer to more than our translations suggest.  To “remember” can, and sometimes does, mean “to focus on someone or something.”  To “forget” means “to refuse to focus on someone or something.”

So, what Paul seems to be saying is that he no longer focuses on his past.  Recall, yes.  Focus, no.

The doors in my past, in your past, have closed.  This is not bad news.  In fact, it is profoundly good news.  The present has enough joys, enough sorrows, enough problems, enough opportunities.  I find that, when I really believe that, I can do one of two things.  Either I rejoice in this present moment, or I am able to endure this present problem or sorrow.

And, with the Apostle Paul and with Karen Casey, I can face today and tomorrow with a nice blend of quiet acceptance and eager anticipation.

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“No Worries! The God Who Is Both Leader and Companion!”

On July 31, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Most of us are afraid of the future, to a greater or lesser extent.  Some of us are so prone to fear that we even fear the past.  (We don’t usually think of fearing the past, but that is only because we call our fear of the past “regret.”)  And, frankly, the present can also be pretty intimidating.

That doesn’t leave a lot of time to not be afraid, does it?

There is a sense in which every day is terra incognito.  A saying (attributed to various people) goes something like this: “Most things are hard to predict—especially things in the future.”  That lack of knowing what will in happen in any given day is pretty intimidating.

Humankind has struggled with such fears for a very long time.  It may be more intense these days, but I doubt it.  Times change, but our fear of the changing times does not.

Certainly, this was a struggle throughout the ancient Near East.  The Bible has a lot of “fear nots,” which suggests that there was a lot of fear coursing through the veins of ancient Israel.

The book of Deuteronomy is attributed to Moses, and is his last will and testament.  He is speaking to the nation of Israel which is just about to enter the Promised Land.  Moses repeatedly tells the people that he will not be going in.  The land and the future are terra incognito.  However, Moses assures them that God will go ahead of them, and that they don’t need to be afraid.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8, New Living Translation)

I looked at the Hebrew for this verse.  It is interesting that the personal pronoun “he” is used a couple of times, even though it is not, strictly speaking, necessary.  Apparently, Moses wanted to be very emphatic in pointing out that God Himself would go ahead of the people.

But this verse tells Israel that God will not only go ahead of them.  God will also go with them.

It’s a wonderful picture: the God who goes before us and who goes with us.  God goes before in order to lead the way, but God also keeps us company, as we go.

I have to say, in all honesty, I have a difficult time believing that most of the time.  However, when I do believe it, I can face the unknown territory of the past, the present, and the future a lot more calmly.

 

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“IMAGINING DIFFERENT FUTURES”

On June 22, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I have signed up to receive daily TED talks in my e mail in box.  My first one was a talk by Anab Jain, and was titled “Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures.”

I am not all that big on the future.  I’m still trying to decide if I like the present.  Don’t even get me started on the past!

However, I thought to myself, “Well, I’ve signed up for this, so I’d better listen to it.”  I’m glad that I did. (If you want to see and hear the entire TED talk, go to https://www.ted.com/talks/anab_jain_why_we_need_to_imagine_different_futures, accessed 06-20-2017.)

Jain gave a number of examples of her team’s research in various fields.  However, I was especially intrigued by some of her comments that are, I think, widely applicable.

For example, concerning climate change, she spoke of exploring different “possible futures.”  Such exploration tries to “. . . prepare for that future by developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.”

. . .

“. . . [C]reating concrete experiences can bridge the disconnect between today and tomorrow.  By putting ourselves into different possible futures, by becoming open and willing to embrace the uncertainty and discomfort that such an act can bring, we have the opportunity to imagine new possibilities.  . . . We can move beyond hope into action.”

Christians should be among the forward-looking people in the world.  Instead, we are among the most backward-looking folks.  Years ago, I remember (!?!   See!  I’m looking back!) someone speaking of “. . . the seven last words of the church: “We’ve never done it that way before!”  Churches tend to forget the truth of a Will Rogers’ saying: “The good old days ain’t so good any more, and they probably never was.”

To imagine different futures doesn’t mean ignoring the past, nor does it mean that we don’t live in the present.  Rather, imagining different futures means “. . . developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.”  It is only when we begin to develop tools, attitudes, and hope that our actions can really make a difference in the present and for the future.

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“DYING EVERY NIGHT, REBORN EVERY DAY”

On June 6, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 

“. . . I die daily” (Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:31).

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34, New Living Translation).

“And come what may at the break of each day
We all begin anew once more, we all begin anew” (The Moody Blues, “The Other Side of Life”).

I am toying with a very strange idea.  (For those of you who know me well, that probably doesn’t seem strange at all.)

Here is the idea: Every night, when I go to bed, I die.  Every morning, when I awake, I am reborn.

The reason why the notion of dying every night and being reborn every morning is helpful to me is this: I am in the import business.  I tend to import regrets from the past and worries about the future into my present.  My present is heavily mortgaged due to this.  I am not a particularly good business person.

I have a past, and it is not a very good one in many ways.  It is comforting to me to remember that I don’t have to remember all that stuff all the time.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that my past evils don’t have ongoing results.  They flat out do!  However, focusing on them all the time doesn’t help me to atone for them.  If the cross of Jesus Christ didn’t do that, I am a dead man, as dead as dead can be.  Remaining focused on past wrong-doing tends to lead me toward despair at an accelerating pace.  Furthermore, the more I focus on my past, the more likely I am to go back to it.

I was out on the Little Miami Bike Trail the other day, when I heard a father give his young son a very sound piece of wisdom.  I was passing this family, when this little guy looked back.  Of course, he steered into my path.  I was anticipating such a possibility, and hit the brakes.  As I went around the family, I heard the little guy’s dad say, “Don’t look back, or you’ll go the wrong way!”  The dad might as well have been talking to me.

When I start the new day with a new version of myself, I find it much easier to be at peace, and to get things done.  Perhaps there is a reason why we are given our moments little by little.  Maybe, just maybe, God or the Universe or someone/something set things up that way.

Have a good day, but be sure to die tonight!  However, I do hope that you’ll be reborn in the morning!

 

 

 

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“Fully Engaged with Life”

On May 1, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

My twelve-step sponsor made an intriguing comment a week or so ago.  He often does.  But this one has gotten stuck in my heart: “Be fully engaged,” he counseled me.

Sounded good, but I didn’t know the origin of the word “engage.”  So I did what modern people do when they don’t know something: I googled it!  Here is what I found out about the origin of the word.

“en·gage . . .

late Middle English (formerly also as ingage ): from French engager, ultimately from the base of gage1. The word originally meant ‘to pawn or pledge something,’ later ‘pledge oneself (to do something),’ hence ‘enter into a contract’ (mid 16th century), ‘involve oneself in an activity,’ ‘enter into combat’ (mid 17th century), giving rise to the notion ‘involve someone or something else.’

gage1

ɡāj/

archaic

noun

  1. 1.  a valued object deposited as a guarantee of good faith.

verb

  1. 1.  offer (a thing or one’s life) as a guarantee of good faith.”

So, being engaged involves putting yourself or something you value into something.  Being engaged means that I am not a bystander (innocent or otherwise) in my life.

I am sitting in a hotel room at Myrtle Beach, watching the waves coming ashore.  The sun is up.  It is, of course, easy to be engaged at this moment.  I am here with my sweetheart, enjoying a few days of vacation.  It is wonderful.

Yet, even here, it is easy to disengage.  After getting settled into our room last evening, my wife and I went for a walk along the beach.  It wasn’t crowded, but there were some folks enjoying the late afternoon.  There were kids playing in the sand, and some kids were wading in the shallows.  It was wonderful.

But, of course, me being me, I thought of our trips to the beach when our own children were little.  And, at that point, it was only a stone’s throw to regret for the dad I was and the dad I was not.  The past is sand in the cogs of being fully engaged.

The future can also mess with being fully engaged.  I worry.  I worry about retirement.  Will we have enough to live on, and enough to do some fun things?  I worry about health—my wife’s and my own.  I worry about how much longer I will be able to teach, to wait tables, to mow the grass.  I worry because the strawberries may be ripening (and rotting) while we are at the beach.  I worry about the fact that we only have a few days at the beach.  I worry about whether the weather will be nice.  I worry about . . .

Well, listing these worries is making me more worried (which is one more thing to worry about), so I’ll stop.  You get the point.

If the past and the future can interfere with being fully engaged, I now know what full engagement might look like.  It means being completely present.

I started this blog post at home, looking out my window on a grey April day. I was looking out the window, watching the maple seeds twirling toward their destiny.  I think that I was fully engaged.

I am finishing this post at the beach, with the sun streaming through my window.  I think that I am fully engaged.

Thanks, sponsor, for the very needful reminder!

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“LETTING GOD DO THE HEAVY LIFTING”

On November 9, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Bel (one of the names of the main Babylonian god, who was also called Marduk) has bowed down, Nebo (another Babylonian god, who was the patron of scribes) stoops over; Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, A load for the weary beast.

2 They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.

3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb;

4 Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:1-4).

I got to be a grateful observer of an amusing and enlightening little vignette the other day.  My wife and I were visiting one of her brothers and his family.  One of my grandnephews, age five, had gotten a new bike recently, and wanted to bring it upstairs from the basement to show us.

His dad said, “You’re not strong enough to carry the bike upstairs.”

The little guy had an interesting comeback: “I’m going to bring it upstairs, but you’re going to carry it.”

Well, I could take this a number of different directions!  I could talk about visionaries (the little guy) and administrators (his dad).  Or, I could talk about the semantic range of the words “bring” and “carry.”

But I think I’ll talk about us and God instead.  (Talking about God is so much more fun than actually obeying God!)  Heaven knows we’ve been talking enough about politics here of late.  So, how about thinking about human and divine relationships?  Perhaps such relationships are where most of the real potential and perils lie.

Certainly, we humans have responsibilities to “bring” and to “carry” certain things.  However, sometimes we may forget who does the heavy carrying—God.  Some of us have stooped shoulders from carrying things and people we were never designed to carry.

We try to carry other people, and drop them.  We try to carry the load of our past mistakes and sins, and wonder why we feel so desperate.  We try to carry the future (it’s called worry), and wonder why we can’t relax.

The list goes on, but I won’t.

Isaiah reminded the exiled people of Judah that God had carried them all along, and would continue to do so.

Years ago, I had a systematic theology professor named Thomas Parker.  He pointed out the passage I quoted to begin this post, Isaiah 46:1-4, and then said something I’ll never forget.  “We have to carry idols.  The true God is the one who carries us.”

To finish the story that gave rise to this post, the little guy did bring his bike upstairs.  His father did carry it up for him.  Dads are like that!

We have a heavenly Father, who is only too glad to carry us.  Perhaps we should let him!

What are you carrying right now? Drop it!  Throw your shoulders back!  God is still in control!  He always does the heavy lifting.

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What Is the Glory of God, and How Do I Glorify God?

On August 31, 2016 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Yesterday was a difficult day, and seems to have spilled over into today.

My sweetheart gave her notice at work on Monday, and her employers (or some of them, at least) are not treating her kindly.  She is sick this morning.  This is probably caused by the intense stress she is under.

I found out about a possible teaching position on Monday, only to be told on Tuesday that there are “. . . thirty-five highly qualified applicants . . .” already.

And then, there is my guilt.  Why did I not work harder and save more earlier in my life?  Why did I sacrifice all kinds of relationships, money, opportunities, gifts, to the not-so-great god of my addiction?  Beating myself up is not helpful, but it’s such great fun.

I thought of those verses that say that we are to “glorify God in all things.”  How do I glorify God with all this stuff, I wondered.  How do I glorify God with/in the mess I’ve created?

I was also puzzled as to what the glory of God is, and how I could glorify God.  How can I glorify God, if I don’t even know what that means?   So I did what we all do: I googled it.  There were several helpful sites, but this one especially struck me.

http://founders.org/fj56/all-to-the-glory-of-god/, accessed 8-31-2016.

I glorify God by receiving from God, and by enjoying God and God’s blessings: Yes!

I can either look back with regret, or I can look up to where God sits enthroned.  Where I look will determine what I see.

So, how will I glorify God today?  I will receive from God a fresh sense of hope and purpose.  I will receive God’s reassurance that I am loved and have been forgiven.  I will receive and welcome God’s truth that I am influenced by my past, but that I am not determined by my past, and that I can choose to be influenced by my past in a redemptive manner.  My past can make me more humble and more kind to everyone.

One of the gifts God is giving me today is August 31, 2016.  I will receive it and enjoy it!  Above all, I will enjoy the God who gives me this day.

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