Pondering Life's Path

THE OLD PATHS

I liked the old paths . . . well not all of them!
America was beautiful;...and still is.
And God was welcome!...And yes, still is!(Your God, My God, Their God!)

We read the Bible in public;...as it was crammed down our throats.
Prayed in school;...like clockwork everyday - did that give it meaning?
And preached from house to house;...we couldn't save ourselves so we had to attempt to save others.

To be called an American was worth dying for;...and still is.
To be called a Christian was worth living for;...and dying for.
To be called a traitor was a shame!...and a disgrace, even then!, still is!

Preachers preached because they had a message;...so the message has changed?
And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!...what victory, Christians still got hurt and hurt others, and died, some as paupers, what victory?
Preachers preached from the Bible;...and their imaginations, just as today.
Singers sang from the heart;...still do.
And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!...and some still do!

A new birth meant a new life;...still does.
Salvation meant a changed life;...still does.
Following Christ led to eternal life!...still does!

Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God;...and sometimes coveted thy neighbors children.
Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;...and your devout ways with the church children.
Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;...and neglect the living.
And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!... while you're taking care of business as not all sinners are sinners, just different. Depends on who is judging the so called sinner.

Laws were based on the Bible;...and many still are.
Homes read the Bible;...and many still do.
And churches taught the Bible...so what do they teach now if not the bible??

God was worshiped;...and still is.
Christ was exalted;...and still is.
And the Holy Spirit was respected!...and still is by many.

Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's day, rather than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, or being entertained somewhere else...and many of those in those places were still Christians and many wanted to be in the church but their clothes weren't good enough or there skin wasn't the right color! Christ is everywhere and in everything, so who says that creek bank, golf course, or garden isn't a place of worship.

I still like the old paths the best!...Then again what was so good about them.

Live in today and try to make your tomorrow your best!

"The Old Paths" was written by a retired minister who lives in Tennessee. I feel sorry for him having been blind to the real world around him!! Maybe he could have helped more and still could if he stopped living in the rosy past he describes here that did not really exist for all. Then again, he did lead a blessed life if he lived these things.

"This is the day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Ps. 118:24 ~No where does this verse say live in the past, or yearn for the old ways!

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Now before you get all fired up crazy, please understand, this was responded to privately by me at a time when writing these feelings and concerns down was a form of therapy. I never did send the response back to the sender, and now I'm glad I didn't. But it, the e-mail, did do as was possibly intended. It got me thinking and reviewing, and yes even seeing that there was good in my childhood, even amongst the bad. It also brought me back to thinking of talking with God.

As I am sure you can guess I did not have the best of childhoods. And yes, I do acknowledge that there may be those that did live a rosy Christian life.

The original author of this piece may have been one of them. I do not know him and in no way do I intend to disrespect him. He wrote lovely words that I am sure were straight from his heart.

As this piece without my added words was from a forwarded e-mail I have no way of even knowing if his original poem is intact or if this is just pieces of it. I also have no way of knowing if this is an original copyrighted work as it would be assumed items floating around in cyberspace e-mails are in the public domain. I would love to know the name of the retired minister in Tennessee that wrote it, and if he wrote anything else. That is if theat part of the e-mail is correct. His words did stir things in me and that is not a bad thing. If you know of the origin of this e-mail please share this information with me.

I too find myself longing for the good times in my past, and yes I admit my childhood was not all bad. However, there are times that the constant banter about how much better things were in the old days gets a bit hard to swallow when one has lived and seen results of not so good old days.

So I suppose on the day I responded to this I was maybe having some of the flashbacks going on in my dreams and maybe I had had just one too many "God Bless You" e-mails sent my way that day!

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate them all. I am a believer and I also believe that Christ would understand my comments here. It's something he and I are working on everyday of my life!!