Big Brick

This may look like an ordinary brick, but it is so much more. When I left Mainland High School and my teaching/athletic training career we were in a construction project. A team was tearing down portions of the old school as they built a new one in its place. As I wrapped up my summer position there one of the custodians brought this brick to me. It was from the classroom I had taught in for years and it has a prominent place on the shelf in my office today.

This is more than memorabilia to me. It is a symbol of the foundation laid in me through Mainland High School and the family there. It signifies the trust they placed in me when they brought me on staff and the loving patience they showed me as I matured. This was the place that developed my passion for other people and shaped my leadership skills. At Mainland I learned to think long term and see the stories behind people's attitudes. It was here that I was honored to work with some of the brightest, most compassionate, and loyal friends. This brick represents the people that are still so important to me that I deeply care for.

I suppose it doesn't necessarily matter if anyone else sees more than a brick as long as I understand it's value. I believe it's healthy to have artifacts such as this to make sure we remember how we arrived in our present position.

Rooted

It's sometimes easy to look at people, places, and events in our past with a certain amount of derision. We often view them in the lens of how we operate today and dismiss the things of the past too quickly. I am often reminded the past, imperfect as it may be, is the foundation of our present. All of the difficulties, the lessons gained through failure, and our wise & foolish choices have brought us to this point in our lives. To attempt to ignore them completely would negate the building blocks of who we are today. Instead, we can learn from them and choose the correct path as we move forward. 

Don't forget your roots. Good or bad, these are what brought you to this point today. What you do with your roots is up to you. 

Listen to the Story

We all have our own story. Since that is true, that also means that everyone around us has a story as well. We just don't know all the parts of the tale of lives around us. Each story is powerful because it belongs to each of us and is a fundamental part of who we are. Imagine the change in our culture's compassion if we took the time to stop and listen to other people's stories. We might be surprised at what we find.

Forward Focused

My office is a testimony to things in my past that are important to me. I have pictures and memorabilia of my time at Mainland High School, my first ministry position at Tomoka Christian Church, and special family moments. All of these collectible items might not mean much to anyone else, but they are extremely valuable to me. I enjoy the feelings that these things evoke and the memories of times shared with good friends that come to mind whenever I see them. As much as I treasure the past, however, I know that I must look to the future if I want to develop as a leader and mature as a person.

We didn't arrive where we are today without the influence of our life history. Unfortunately, we get stuck when we only look at the past and reminisce about the glory days. We have to train ourselves to appreciate our life experiences while looking ahead at our next steps of change and growth. It's an understanding that our history serves to give us momentum towards an even better future. 

Earning It

The NFL draft is wrapping up this week and the months of predictive analysis will now continue with months of event analysis. Everyone will want to know if the experts were able to correctly predict a player's NFL success based on his college work.

I was thinking about the college players who were drafted this morning and the high level of success they experienced at the collegiate level. Some of them have won Heisman trophies, player of the year awards, All-American honors, conference championships, and national championships. Those are all impressive accolades, but they don't guarantee anything professionally. All of their college accomplishments have only earned them an opportunity to succeed at the next level. Now that the draft is over no one cares about what they have done in their past, but only want to see what they will do next.

I don't know that's quite as cut and dry for the rest of us, but there is some truth to that principle. Our past leadership decisions don't guarantee our future success, but they do provide us the opportunity to make the next right decision. Even with an impressive pedigree we still have to be disciplined and focused enough to bring our best for the future. We might buy ourselves a bit of grace with our history, but at some point we'll need to step up our game enough to make a difference at the next level.

Comfy

Have you ever had an old pair of shoes that you just didn't want to get rid of? They aren't meant to be worn on every occasion, but they are perfect for when you want to wear something comfortable.

Other people may not completely understand why you hang on to them-after all, they wouldn't fit them well anyway. The important thing is that they fit you and you are at ease when wearing them. It's definitely much more about the function of the shoes than the style.

This is similar to some relationships in our lives as well. There are people that are just comfortable to be around. Even though it may have been quite a while since you were face-to-face, there is a sense of ease as you slip back into a comfortable interaction. There is a depth and familiarity from shared experiences that can't often be explained, but feels right when you are in it. Every now and then you are fortunate enough to be reminded of how valuable these kinships are to you and why you continue to keep them around.

To Sum Up

We are the sum total of our life experiences. Each positive or painful memory, small thought or grand idea, encouraging or unkind word, minuscule habit or overpowering addiction have all formed who we are today and the person we will become tomorrow. 

I don't know that many people recognize the impact of these small decisions and our reactions. I believe that we tend to move forward without giving intentional thought to the pieces that are building our future. To find maturity and the greatest growth we've got to take a step back from the small picture so that we can begin to understand how our whole life fits together. If we neglect this step we'll find ourselves on an unintended road with confusing surroundings and no idea how we can change our circumstances.

Sum Total

Our current status is a reflection of our past experiences and our reactions to them. While we cannot change the reality of the previous influences in our life, we get to determine what power they hold over us.

I shared details of my own life history with my children tonight--things that they had not known to this point. They are not always comfortable to reflect on, but I also recognize the way they have shaped me. The life that I have been blessed with and the healing that God has done in me paint a picture of the grace that is freely available regardless of our past. It's a perfect representation of God's ability to take what has been intended for harm and turn it into something beautiful.

Very few of us have a picture-perfect history. We can either choose to replicate the flaws that have affected us or by grace allow Him to reshape & improve us in spite of that past.