Some days I wish I could go back… back to the time I was a little girl in East Texas, singing songs in Sunday school in a world that was very different from the one we live in today. Times were more wholesome back then… people more moral… and God was more respected… more revered.
Back then, the majority of people appreciated our country and all it afforded them, and they didn’t take things for granted. Children and teenagers respected parents, teachers, and those in authority. The law was followed. Politicians were not as slimy and self-centered in their dealings. Good was rewarded and recognized as good, and evil was justly dealt with and recognized as evil.
People, in general, cared about each other and lived a more selfless existence.
Employers were loyal; and hard-working, decent people could stay at one place and retire comfortably. Employees were appreciated, valued, and seen as people, not numbers.
Modesty was more mainstream, and certain topics were too taboo for open discussion.
People were more private, as they should be. There was no shameless airing of dirty laundry and no paparazzi lurking around every corner.
Life was more respected and considered more valuable… more sacred.
Schools were more inclined to focus on actual school work like reading, writing, and mathematics as opposed to teaching social justice, wokeism, critical race theory, and which correct pronoun to use for girls and boys.
Yes, times were definitely different back then.
Having been born in the early 70s, I find it amazing just how much has changed in my short lifetime.
We went from the rotary, on-the-wall phones with cords that could only reach so far to flip phones to little phones that conveniently fit neatly inside one’s pocket.
We transitioned from slow-cooking stoves to fast-cooking microwaves, from floppy discs and bulky computers to no discs and streamlined laptops.
From in-person, face-to-face conversations to sitting behind a screen, chatting with no eye contact.
From shows and movies to scripted “reality” TV and social media channels of all varieties.
From artificial intelligence as simply being a rough concept to streamlined, savvy A.I. so smart that it can easily pass a law bar exam or deep-fake a person’s existence.
We went from some choices to an explosion of choices (many unhealthy), whether it be food, drinks, products, technology, entertainment, etc.
And the list goes on.
Although much has changed and I can’t go back, I do find myself missing those days. Nevertheless, I have many things to be thankful for. Something I’m most thankful for is the reality that although things have changed over time and will continue to do so, there is one constant that has never and will never change…. God has always been and will always be God. That very truth… that very thought brings me great comfort, and I praise Him for that!
How nice it is… how very reassuring to know that God is still the same. He was the same back then and is the same now. He will forever be the same.
Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I change not.” And Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Amen!
Although I can’t go back to that more innocent time I found myself in – in that small Sunday school class in that little white country church in East Texas – I am thankful for the experience.
More than anything, however, I am most thankful that God promises to one day come get us from this world, a place that was never our true home, and take us home to forever be with Him. To that day, I await with childlike anticipation.