A tie to Christmas past
That tie you see in the photo? That’s a gift from my daughter.
Carly bought it at her school’s Santa Shop when she was in first grade.
She’s now 23.
I promised her at the time I would wear it at least once every holiday season. So I’m slipping it on again today for our Christmas service at church.
Why, you might ask?
For the same reason we listen to carols, put up a tree and share gifts each year — we all crave reminders.
Call it tradition. Call it nostalgia. By any name, it always comes down to the same two things:
We want to be reminded of how we once felt.
We want to feel that way again.
Whether we admit it or not, we carry our past with us everywhere, into the now. There’s no such thing as the future.
There is only hope.
“Realistic thinking is where real hope is found. It helps us hit the right balance between realism and aspirations.” — M. P. Neary
I know you think I’m crazy, but stay with me on this. We’re living in a world where time is always moving backward. Yes, backward.
Did someone share a story with you today? It’s from the past.
Did you teach something today? You learned it in the past.
Are you reading these words right now? They were written in the past.
Tomorrow, billions around the globe will celebrate the birth of Christ. That special delivery took place more than 2,000 years ago.
Whether we admit it or not, we carry our past with us everywhere, into the now. There’s no such thing as the future.
There is only hope.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 1:9
Ever heard of an iPhone? Maybe you’re reading this blog on one right now.
It was a spectacular “innovation” from Steve Jobs, right? The vision of this brilliant futurist was to create a hand-held device that could perform tasks we could never even imagine or didn’t even know we needed.
Nonsense.
Oh, it can take a photo? We’ve had cameras for centuries.
Oh, I can make a call on it? We’ve had phones for decades.
Oh, I can play games on it? Monopoly was around in 1902.
Oh, it can help me with directions? The wise men were guided by a star.
Wait, well what about …
•Facebook — Please. It’s just a local newspaper on your phone or laptop. Graduation announcements, obituaries, boasting about your child’s accomplishments, engagement and wedding photos, fighting about politics? Been there, done that for years.
•Pro sports — Young, hot coaches like Sean McVay and Lincoln Riley are “innovating” and changing football, right? Nope. That’s who Chuck Noll, Don Shula, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi once were. It’s the same game. Back then, teams ran, teams passed, teams blocked, and teams defended. And the teams who won titles had more points on the scoreboard at the end of the game. Just like today.
Whether we admit it or not, we carry our past with us everywhere, into the now. There’s no such thing as the future.
There is only hope.
“It’s funny how we ‘do’ Christmas. Christmas is not something we do. It’s something that was done.” — Monica Johnson
Still don’t believe me? OK, try this experiment: Imagine a new color.
(Take your time. I’ll wait.)
You can’t. Even if you believe you have, you’re just combining what’s already been around.
Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s how life has been designed.
Anything, and everything, we could possibly imagine was a gift to us at the beginning of time. In that sense, no one is actually “creative.” We’re all “re-creative.” We’re constantly mixing and matching, shaping and reshaping, moving the game pieces on the massive board we call Earth. We’re all like fashion designers, constantly accessorizing and reordering our outfits so no one will notice we wore the same shirt last week.
It’s OK. I do it all the time. I’m constantly looking for ways to reframe old images in my mind.
I know nothing else. I can do nothing else. Neither can you.
The fact is, we all live in the past.
I used to let that frustrate me. I used to feel trapped. Now, I’ve embraced it. Now, I find it freeing. There’s no pressure to be something I’m not or something we’ve not yet seen.
There’s only the simple task of growing into who I already am, who I was created to be even before the beginning of time. The only way for me to grow is in reverse.
Are you familiar with the Fruit of the Spirit? If you’re a follower of Christ, there’s no need to go chasing after love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It’s already in you. We just need to go back to it.
So tomorrow, I plan to go back again. Just like I do every Christmas.
Back to Bethlehem.
Back to the manger.
Back to celebrate the One who was born a king, even though many days I fail to acknowledge that. I’ve been too busy trying to create a non-existent future, build an “innovative” new kingdom, rather than living out the glorious present laid before me.
I invite you to go back with me.
I invite you to sit quietly and ponder our key truth for today:
There’s no such thing as the future. There’s only hope.
With each passing year, with each life-changing “innovation,” we’re simply repeating in different ways. We’re just using different objects as we pursue something called hope. And we pat ourselves on the back for being visionaries.
But with all of these advancements to make our seasons brighter, some of us remain depressed. Some of us remain angry. Some of us continue to live in fear. Some of us keep searching for the latest shiny toy because we believe something is missing.
Yet deep in our hearts I think we know it’s not someTHING that’s missing. It’s actually someONE.
And his name is Jesus.
Tomorrow would be a great time to go back.
To him.
Our only hope.
And as we’ve dissected today, hope is all we really have.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
(Tim Kolodziej is the creator of EnspireU.com and author of this piece. If you would like to receive encouraging/inspiring messages, videos, and motivational stories each morning, text him at (412) 226-4977.)