Don't look back in Anger

Book of Deuteronomy 32 v 7

"Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past.

Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you"

I listen to Gold Radio and yesterday a song came on that I used to love, the Logical Song by Supertramphttps://youtu.be/kln_bIndDJg?si=7QW8iHz7Ak06KGon this song resonates with me and probably some of you, especially the chorus/hook:

"There are times when all the world's asleep

The questions run too deep

For such a simple man

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned?

I know it sounds absurd

Please tell me who I am"

As I go about my daily life, out and about, what I see and hear on t.v. (which I don't watch very much anymore) I feel so sad at how the world seems to be going; people seem so confused as to what they are, what they are to do, what to eat, wear, go on holiday. The media has what they call 'influencers' for what....to do what? Obviously this is not everyone but it seems to be becoming more and more popular. People listening to others who seem to have lives that are 'together' are beautiful, full of fun, friends, success etc.. Anyone vulnerable and open to suggestions, no self confidence can be 'influenced' and led to believe they too can have that life. The same dress that is on a slimmer, younger body, will not look the same on me....I have learned to my cost 😉 The thing is, people tend to only post things that seem fun, but we all know nobody's life is perfect.

So, what am I saying? Why do we do it? It seems some people feel the need to ask someone else to do the thinking for them, instead of thinking for themselves. We are all unique, we are who we are but I know it's hard to see it sometimes. We may not have happy childhood memories with parents/peers who were encouraging, instilling in us a sense of love, acceptance and belonging or some relationships that someone has been the driving force whilst we took a back seat, not that we necessarily wanted it that way.

A lot of younger and older people have very little time or patience with the older generation; I can honestly say as a young mother my best friend was my mother in law. That's the core of this message. I learned from my parents who instilled in me love, hard work, how to look after young children, keep a clean house; my mother in law had a huge influence on me after the death of my mum who was 48; My mother in law had a good outlook on life, her kindness, generosity, sense of fun; everyone on her estate knew her for her friendly, happy disposition even though her life had been hard from being a young girl. When I asked her how she overcame her battle with depression she said "I think of all the good things I have around me, family, friends and helping others takes my mind off myself and my problems". Another lady I knew was going blind and she made me a bookmark which simply said "in acceptance lies peace". An older gentleman had nothing of any earthly value, lived very frugally yet was full of joy, always had bags of sweets to give out to all the children in our church, he wrote some beautiful little faith filled choruses that still roll round my head. You see, I learned from those who had lived life longer than me; they had hard lives but didn't live in bitterness, anger or being resentful or envious, just happy to be who they were. I thank God for those and others who have been my influencers, role models.

To end I would like to add, when, not if, we go through hard times/trials we have a choice to learn from them which will produce wisdom, wisdom we can pass onto the next generation if they will take the time to listen. We don't have to be old to learn wisdom, if we are ready to learn it can come at any time. But, we as christians are instructed to ask for wisdom. King Solomon asked God for wisdom and understanding to govern God's people justly. He specifically requested an "understanding mind to govern" and "discern between good and evil". God was pleased with this request because it was not for wealth, long life, or the death of his enemies..... 1 Kings 3 v 7-15 The Book Proverbs are full of wise sayings mostly written by Solomon and what he had learned. We all would do well to read and meditate on to help guide us live a life with wisdom we can pass onto others. I pray constantly that God would give me wisdom and understanding with every trial so that I can learn and pass onto others to encourage and help them So for all of us..... don't look back in anger, try to listen and take note from those who have learned to be thankful, content and happy in life even through trials, hardships, ups and downs; we can learn an awful lot.