"Back in My Day..."

“Back in My Day…”

I recently came across a fellow blogger who reminded me so much of my grandfather when he was alive that I had to smile. Mr. Geezer’s comical approach to life’s progress was both endearing and thought provoking. As he marveled at today’s youth and the challenges they think they face, I had to chuckle. Don’t we all have similar memories and anecdotes of a time much harder than the next generation? Everyone over the age of 25 can think of at least one instance when life required a bit more elbow grease than the whippersnappers of the new millennium. The absence of progress can be defined in the steps we choose to take to overcome our everyday inconveniences. Mr. Geezer can testify here…

“We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it! There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!”

So I had to respond. Naturally he would have to assume that in asking the general blogging population what their childhood was like, he would get a wide variety of answers from many different age groups. While it wasn’t my intent to make anyone feel old, I did have to throw my two cents in and see where my money took me…

“I grew up just a fraction of a second before the internet invaded everybody's lives. Pagers were the recommended form of communication and Reagan was in the process of getting dethroned. Nintendo was a dirty word in our house when my mother realized that every time Super Mario Brothers was on my brother's eyes would glaze over and he would forget his own name. It was a dangerous time to live in, my friend. The good news is that I survived the Loma Prieta earthquake, public transportation, New Kids on the Block, and Milli Vanilli…”

While it’s easy to gripe about how much harder it was for us, we need to keep in mind that our future is about to collide with our past. Everything that we take for granted now will be obsolete and worthless as the world gets ready for a kind of progress they will neither be prepared for nor equipped to handle.

“It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Revelation 13:7-8

“He shall enter peaceably, even into the riches places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds…”
Daniel 11:24

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened…”
Matthew 24:22

While we bemoan the luxuries of our younger counterparts we need to keep in mind that life is not going to get easier for any of us. We are headed toward disaster in the form of a good looking foreign guy who is both alluring and evil. He will appear as the great savior, having the answer to all our economic and social problems. That is when we will mourn for a simpler time.

Until then, it would be wise for all of us to enjoy the time we’ve been given while we’re here and make the most of it. Some of us will not see the atrocities that are coming and even now are praying that our loved ones will be spared from them as well. While we’re here we need to thank God for the life we have today and use every moment to its fullest. Share the love of Jesus with everyone you can and praise Him for every breath you take. Don’t dwell on past mistakes and failures but use every mistake as an opportunity to grow and go forward. Use the gifts you’ve been given and change the world, one good deed at a time.