A Walk Down Memory Lane

I'm sure most of us at some point in our lives or another have taken a stroll down memory lane....when was the last time you visited your favorite hometown restaurant, or took a drive by your favorite house growing up, or simply just reminisced with some friends from high school? 


Well for me I had the opportunity to do some of those things this past Sunday....I was "back home" with my mom for a couple of days before we left for Florida to see my sister and my new nephew. I was back home in the "Sweetcorn Capital of the World" - HOOPESTON, IL home of the CORNJERKERS!!!! And you might be feeling very jealous right now because we have the coolest MASCOT ever, but I will forgive you ahead of time and show you a picture of our world famous mascot

I'm very proud to be a Hoopeston Cornjerker Alumni. It's quite humorous to talk about, but it brings back so many memories of school growing up, of sports, of show choir competitions...EVERYONE knew who the Cornjerkers were!!!! As I began to ponder while driving through Hoopeston on Sunday afternoon, a lot of memories began to come to the surface, friends, sports, neighbors, games with the neighbors, old employers, teachers, and the list goes on. I also was able to attend church in Danville, IL at Life Church where my in-laws are the senior pastors and where I committed my life to the Lord and was baptized. My father-in-law was teaching a message on "growth" and it got me thinking about how much I have grown over the years since first stepping through those doors almost 8 years before. A LOT has happened since I gave my life to the Lord and a LOT happened before I was FOUND....that is sometimes very hard to grasp! Sometimes our pasts are not something we want to remember, sometimes our pasts are ugly, sometimes our pasts are full of guilt and shame, sometimes our pasts are filled with tons of mistakes. So a walk down memory lane may not be the easiest thing to do. I really feel that it is beneficial though, because without our pasts we would not be who we are today. The Bible tells us that God works everything out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And in order to grow we must LEARN FROM OUR FAILURES....if we just keep failing and messing up and never learning from that then our growth will be stunted! Failure when we respond correctly has must to TEACH us. I've found over the course of my life, that the failures and the toughest times of my life is when my faith is tested and where the greatest growth occurs.  


I want to encourage us today that taking a walk down memory lane can bring great insight into what God has already done in our lives and give us FAITH to push on toward what He is wanting for us in the future. He is well able and IS working on our behalf ALL OF THE TIME....He doesn't take breaks =) 


Be thankful today and remember that God is faithful and wants us to be healthy and GROW....maybe He is using something you are facing today to grow you and challenge you....just a thought! I definitely give Him plenty of opportunities to help me grow in....LOL!