Let's Go Back
To get ahead in life you have to move forward. You can't live in reverse and expect to have or do anything of value. So as we grow we learn the narrative "never look back because you aren't going that way". Sage advice, I must admit, BUT is there or should there be a time when we go back.
Do you ever wonder why, as you mature in life, that something always seems incomplete? When we do good deeds, it feels good, briefly, but something still lacks. Why does living life forward make the puzzle of life look as though a few pieces are missing. Well, let me share a quick story, LET"S GO BACK in time.
I met Tim for a brief period of time when I was about 14. He lived, as they say, on the other side of the tracks. Tim never wore what I would call nice clothes, more times than not his shirt was torn and his pants were always stained and dirty. What I recall the most was his old sneakers didn't have shoe strings. Getting to know Tim wasn't easy because other kids would always say "hey he's from Mudville (not the real name), stay away from him. No wonder Tim never talked to anyone, because they didn't want to be around him. To others it was the dirty kid they could make fun of, but to Tim it was sad because he was the kid being made fun of.
I'll never forget the day our paths crossed. I was leaving school walking along Mason Street and I saw Tim heading my way. I knew talking to him would not be cool at all but no one else was around. As he approached I gestured a peace sign and said 'hey". To my surprise Tim stopped and we started talking. I had some time so I asked him if I could walk with him.
Over the next few weeks Tim and I hung out for hours. I learned so much about the run down community on the other side of the tracks, as they say. Tim's dad had died a few years back and his mother worked at a convenience store. They truly struggled day by day just to have food and clothing. As sad as the situation sounded Tim was never bitter about any of it. His goal in life was to be a doctor so he could have the money to get his mother out of that God forsaken place and be able to live a comfortable life. Tim knew to escape he had to stay focused, he would have to deal with the humiliation of others, and he had to keep his faith. To say he had nothing to work with other than his dreams and his faith would be an understatement.
I recall the last morning I saw Tim, we talked about everything two 14 year old's could think of. But 40 years later the one thing I remember the most about that day was Tim telling me about his favorite verse in the Bible where Nathaniel asked Phillip "has anything good every come out of Nazareth". The reference was obviously questioning the validity of Jesus. That was Tim's faith walk, if you will, he knew something good came out of Nazareth and he knew something good was going to come out of Mudville. He never wavered in his belief that he had what it took to escape and never look back.
Three years ago as fate would have it I decided to look up Tim on facebook. To my surprise I was able to locate him. We immediately connected and reminisced about those wonderful life conversations that only two cast out teens could have. Remembering Tim's dream of becoming a doctor so he could escape his surroundings and take care of his mother, I asked him what he was doing now. He did in fact become a doctor, matter of fact he is now the lead surgeon at a major university hospital. His mother is still alive at 81 and living comfortably in a nice retirement neighborhood.
This sounds good I know, but here is the moral of story. Tim, like many, have a desire to grow up and get ahead. We learn to never look back. But Tim shared something profound with me. He said, you know there were many more Tim's in Mudville. I (Tim) wasn't the only one that had to listen to people talk down to us because our clothes were old and our houses were shacks. I was lucky, by the grace of God I got out. For the first few years after I became a surgeon I never went back to Mudville, I lived my life straight ahead. Then one day I got a call from a lady I grew up with that was still stuck in the shanty home she lived in when I was there. She told me about her son who needed a surgery she could not afford. She was begging for help. My heart sank. Not for her son, but for her. For a poor woman that I knew to have to give up her dignity and beg for her children was more than my soul could bare. I had become one of them, I was the person from the city that had forgotten where I came from."
Needless to say Tim did the surgery for free on the young boy, but what happened next is why I am writing. It wasn't living forward that Tim desired anymore, it was GOING BACK. Tim went back to Mudville, opened a free clinic for the neighborhood. He campaigned the city to clean the place up, provide street lights and sidewalks. He spoke to civic groups and non profits to help get better housing, businesses, and churches to bring awareness to his HOME.
According to Tim, Mudville now is a small proud community that is clean, safe, and full of promise. He once again shared with me his favorite verse and he said "you see my friend something good did come out of Nazareth".
You don't have to be a doctor or some high paying career person to make a difference. Sometimes all we have to do is GO BACK. It could be to say hello to someone you ignored, to say I'm sorry when you crossed someone, it could be picking up trash on the streets, or helping the homeless that annoy you, it could be going back to see the people you made fun of or that made fun of you. Every now and then we need to GO BACK so we can have a clearer vision of where we are really going. God didn't place us here to live our lives only looking forward. We have to be the sunlight when others see gray clouds. We have to be the calm in the storm. We must go back to find that sliver of love that completes the humanity in our heart. We are not complete as a soulful being when we only see what lies before us. To attain the deepest amount of love, to discover our passionate purpose and to finally fill the void that resides in us, we must go back and walk the dusty streets, look in the eyes of those left behind, and remember that if it is to be it is up to me. Let's all step back and allow the love in our hearts to permeate our lives in ways that only serving can do. The sky is the limit when you find yourself in the service of others.
God Bless
Dale
Do you ever wonder why, as you mature in life, that something always seems incomplete? When we do good deeds, it feels good, briefly, but something still lacks. Why does living life forward make the puzzle of life look as though a few pieces are missing. Well, let me share a quick story, LET"S GO BACK in time.
I met Tim for a brief period of time when I was about 14. He lived, as they say, on the other side of the tracks. Tim never wore what I would call nice clothes, more times than not his shirt was torn and his pants were always stained and dirty. What I recall the most was his old sneakers didn't have shoe strings. Getting to know Tim wasn't easy because other kids would always say "hey he's from Mudville (not the real name), stay away from him. No wonder Tim never talked to anyone, because they didn't want to be around him. To others it was the dirty kid they could make fun of, but to Tim it was sad because he was the kid being made fun of.
I'll never forget the day our paths crossed. I was leaving school walking along Mason Street and I saw Tim heading my way. I knew talking to him would not be cool at all but no one else was around. As he approached I gestured a peace sign and said 'hey". To my surprise Tim stopped and we started talking. I had some time so I asked him if I could walk with him.
Over the next few weeks Tim and I hung out for hours. I learned so much about the run down community on the other side of the tracks, as they say. Tim's dad had died a few years back and his mother worked at a convenience store. They truly struggled day by day just to have food and clothing. As sad as the situation sounded Tim was never bitter about any of it. His goal in life was to be a doctor so he could have the money to get his mother out of that God forsaken place and be able to live a comfortable life. Tim knew to escape he had to stay focused, he would have to deal with the humiliation of others, and he had to keep his faith. To say he had nothing to work with other than his dreams and his faith would be an understatement.
I recall the last morning I saw Tim, we talked about everything two 14 year old's could think of. But 40 years later the one thing I remember the most about that day was Tim telling me about his favorite verse in the Bible where Nathaniel asked Phillip "has anything good every come out of Nazareth". The reference was obviously questioning the validity of Jesus. That was Tim's faith walk, if you will, he knew something good came out of Nazareth and he knew something good was going to come out of Mudville. He never wavered in his belief that he had what it took to escape and never look back.
Three years ago as fate would have it I decided to look up Tim on facebook. To my surprise I was able to locate him. We immediately connected and reminisced about those wonderful life conversations that only two cast out teens could have. Remembering Tim's dream of becoming a doctor so he could escape his surroundings and take care of his mother, I asked him what he was doing now. He did in fact become a doctor, matter of fact he is now the lead surgeon at a major university hospital. His mother is still alive at 81 and living comfortably in a nice retirement neighborhood.
This sounds good I know, but here is the moral of story. Tim, like many, have a desire to grow up and get ahead. We learn to never look back. But Tim shared something profound with me. He said, you know there were many more Tim's in Mudville. I (Tim) wasn't the only one that had to listen to people talk down to us because our clothes were old and our houses were shacks. I was lucky, by the grace of God I got out. For the first few years after I became a surgeon I never went back to Mudville, I lived my life straight ahead. Then one day I got a call from a lady I grew up with that was still stuck in the shanty home she lived in when I was there. She told me about her son who needed a surgery she could not afford. She was begging for help. My heart sank. Not for her son, but for her. For a poor woman that I knew to have to give up her dignity and beg for her children was more than my soul could bare. I had become one of them, I was the person from the city that had forgotten where I came from."
Needless to say Tim did the surgery for free on the young boy, but what happened next is why I am writing. It wasn't living forward that Tim desired anymore, it was GOING BACK. Tim went back to Mudville, opened a free clinic for the neighborhood. He campaigned the city to clean the place up, provide street lights and sidewalks. He spoke to civic groups and non profits to help get better housing, businesses, and churches to bring awareness to his HOME.
According to Tim, Mudville now is a small proud community that is clean, safe, and full of promise. He once again shared with me his favorite verse and he said "you see my friend something good did come out of Nazareth".
You don't have to be a doctor or some high paying career person to make a difference. Sometimes all we have to do is GO BACK. It could be to say hello to someone you ignored, to say I'm sorry when you crossed someone, it could be picking up trash on the streets, or helping the homeless that annoy you, it could be going back to see the people you made fun of or that made fun of you. Every now and then we need to GO BACK so we can have a clearer vision of where we are really going. God didn't place us here to live our lives only looking forward. We have to be the sunlight when others see gray clouds. We have to be the calm in the storm. We must go back to find that sliver of love that completes the humanity in our heart. We are not complete as a soulful being when we only see what lies before us. To attain the deepest amount of love, to discover our passionate purpose and to finally fill the void that resides in us, we must go back and walk the dusty streets, look in the eyes of those left behind, and remember that if it is to be it is up to me. Let's all step back and allow the love in our hearts to permeate our lives in ways that only serving can do. The sky is the limit when you find yourself in the service of others.
God Bless
Dale
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