Finding Comfort in What Has Been

So, I proudly walked into the living room last night wearing a sweatshirt that is nearly 25 years old. This was hiding in the back of my closet and I thought "I need to see if this still fits" (it does very well in fact). The sleeves are frayed a bit, the neckline is falling apart, but its still a great shirt. Not only does this shirt feel old, what it comes from feels like a very long time ago. After all, Colorado football hasn't been much to get excited about for about a decade now. But that doesn't mean that I love the team any less or that I don't go back to that night in January of 1991 and vividly remember how great it was to celebrate that victory.

There is something wonderful about going "back in the day" - stories shared among family members of fond memories, photo albums flipped through, and so forth. I shared in my sermon in worship on Sunday about how the Christmas season is a time more like any other in the year where we are connected to the past - in the music we sing and the remembrances those carols bring up.

The Scriptures have many instances of people looking back to remember the ways that the past continues to influence the present. Psalm 107 is one of many songs in that wonderful book that reflects back on the history of the people and the ways that God has been faithful in the past and will continue to be faithful today and into the future.

So, this sweatshirt isn't going anywhere anytime soon (much to my wife's and daughter's chagrin) as it does connect me back to a wonderful memory but speaks to me of much more than just a football team.