reminisce

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A Dinner To Remember And Reflect

It was a dinner to remember and reflect on the past decades. Sometimes you just have to take time to reminisce.

a dinner to remember and reflect

We probably have all done this. It seems I’m doing it a lot more lately. 

It’s good to reflect on the past year, or years, and recall what you did, accomplished, or should have done differently.

Now that I’m retired, I’m doing a lot more of that. 

In our family room right now, there are eleven boxes of files and memories from the past almost four decades of ministry. I’ve started sifting through them and some of the files go back to when I first started in ministry. 

There are a ton of things like old youth event calendars that Lily or I made, or Graham one of our youth designed. He was a master creator.

But with each calendar, form or contact list that would cross my eyes, I had to pause. People and events needed to be reflected on before I could dispatch them to a keeper file or the trash. 

Some of these files I will never use again but I need to keep a sampling of them because they help when I go back and remember the past. 

This summer Lily and I spent a couple of hours with an old and dear youth leader, Audrey. We’re so glad we did because she passed away just a few months after our visit. 

When we arrived at her house she had a file for us to see. In it there was a list of the names of students who’d attended a certain retreat. 

We spent a lot of time just looking at those names and talking about each student and our memories of them.  

It was a special time.

You can’t just erase the past and start fresh; you need some hooks to remember the past. Sorting through my files will provide me with a point of connection to the past the next time I take a trip down memory lane. 

Two days after my last day of work, Lily and I went out for dinner. It wasn’t just dinner at a restaurant; we ate at the revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto. 

It was significant and reminiscent of years ago when we would have dinner after the Christmas Eve Service in Edmonton. We would eat at the Chateau LaCombe Hotel, in their revolving restaurant that overlooked the river valley and city. 

Seeing the sights of Toronto as the landscape slowly changed before us reminded us of those days. 

At dinner we talked about ministry at our churches and the people who have walked through our lives, enriched us and encouraged us. We spent time reflecting on what we have experienced over so many years. 

After dinner we strolled around the observation deck and, as we looked out at the night and the lights that glimmered and sparkled, we talked about our future. 

Looking ahead capped off a perfect dinner of remembering. … for there is no point reminiscing if you don’t also look ahead.

Here’s the thing: Reminiscing should spur us on to what is next. When you recall your past, be sure to recall the times God provided, answered your prayer, supplied your need, protected you, gave you wisdom and helped you make decisions. When you do that, you will boldly continue to move on with Jesus as your guide and strength. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When will you take some time to reflect and remember? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Friendship That Lasts Over Time And Distance

When you start a friendship, that friendship may last for a season or last for life.

Friendship that lasts over time and distance

We’ve all had friendships that didn’t last for one reason or another – they moved away or you had an argument and never made up. Sometimes it’s just circumstances that set you apart. You end up at different schools or your career paths take you in different directions. 

High school friends are often for the season. When high school is over that’s it for the friendship, partly because you don’t have contact with those people anymore.

But there are occasions when friendships span the distances, differences and directions. For those relationships there is deep connection that bridges all the impediments to remaining friends.

This week I met up with some high school friends. It’s a thing we do about every two years. We meet up at a restaurant and share a meal together and talk about old times. 

Some people wish they could forget their high school years. They’ve tried to blot them out of their memory banks. But I think I’m safe in saying that for me and my friends, high school was probably one of the best seasons of our lives.

 It doesn’t take much to bring us together either. One friend comes into town to visit family and the emails get sent out, “let’s meet up”.

The crazy thing is, the boys show up.

We feast on remembering back to those days, now almost 50 years ago. 

Thinking back 50 years, I don’t have much left from that time period. I don’t have my custom-made platform shoes anymore, nor do I have my knee-length grey coat with the 10-inch fur collar. 

… Those things have all gone, along with much of the hair we all had back then. 

Some of our group get together periodically, maybe for golf, hockey or for some social gathering, but some of us don’t get together at all. There were a few guys who showed up whom I haven’t seen since high school.

One neat thing about this group though is that no matter how long the time gap between meetings, we kind of pick up where we left off. The nicknames start to fly around like it was yesterday. 

These reunions are always something to look forward to. … Maybe that’s why this year there were 17 of us who got together at Fionn McCools for a good old catchup.

Back in the 80’s there was a TV show called, “Cheers”. It centred around a bar in Boston. Whenever one of the main characters, Norm Peterson, walked into the bar, everyone stopped, looked up and cheered, “Normmm”. 

Well, that was what it was like the other night. 

We all stood around the patio and, when someone came through the doors, there was a, “Hey, ……” and the greetings began.

It was only one night and it probably won’t happen again like that for another two years. But when the email invitation comes to do it again, I won’t hesitate to answer.

Here’s the thing: Most of us focus on the here and now. At some point we won’t be around anymore and the friendships we had will end. But there is a friendship we can have that will continue into eternity – a friendship with Jesus Christ will never end. Put your faith in Him today and your friendship will last forever.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What old friend should you try to reconnect with? Leave your comments and questions below.

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It’s Time To Look Back And Reminisce

Have you ever done something for a long time and then looked back and reminisced about it?

20th-anniversary

Well, I did that this week. On April 1st I celebrated 20 years as the pastor of my church. It sure seems like a milestone to me … and that’s no April Fool’s joke!

Nineteen years didn’t seem to be that big a deal, but twenty does. There is only one place in which I have lived longer, and that’s Toronto.

At 25 I left Toronto for school in Regina to be a youth pastor … with many questions and fears, but no other desire than to work my whole career with junior and senior high students.

Being five to seven years older than most of my freshmen class, however, I wasn’t so sure becoming a youth pastor at 29 would be something anyone else would think was a good idea.

All along the way though, my call continually reminded me that this was not something I had dreamed up for myself; it was God’s idea. Whenever I got to wondering about my future, there was always some confirmation that kept me going.

After getting to my first church, I didn’t think I was going to last there very long … the first two years were pretty tumultuous. Again God worked and I ended up being one of my senior pastor’s longest serving assistant pastors, and the longest lasting youth pastor he’d ever hired.

During my time there, I worked with over 25 pastoral staff, and over 30 office and secretarial staff. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave there after eleven years.

God once again was so clear in His direction, however, that I had to pursue a role as a senior pastor.

I remember being interviewed for the position at my present church, and at one point I was given an opportunity to ask some of the congregation how they saw the church in five years.

I will never forget the first answer someone gave. It was simply, “looking for another pastor”. I quickly responded to her by saying, “I hope not”.

Well, that was a long time ago, and I’m still here. I’m not sure, though, where the person is who made that comment.

I remember as a youth pastor when I was given opportunities to preach, I was always up really late the night before trying to finish my sermon. In those days I still had my full time work to do and had to squeeze sermon prep into an already busy schedule.

Still, coming to Kingston, I was concerned that I would be burning the midnight oil on Saturday nights, cramming hard to get that last illustration into my message. I was concerned enough to tell God I wouldn’t be able to do the job if that’s what would happen.

Now as I look back, there may have been a few times – but less than 5 in 20 years – that that happened, and all because of extenuating circumstances.

The last 20 years haven’t all been easy, but I’ve clearly seen God’s hand on my life and ministry over that time. Thanks, Lord.

Here’s the thing: The most important thing I did 20 years ago was obey God’s voice and the direction He gave me. If you will hear God speak, and obey what He tells you, I’m confident that God’s hand will be on your life and ministry too, whether that is in the market place or as a full time vocation.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you known when God was telling you to do something? Leave your comment below.