By Kim Longden
I picked up the My Next Step, Volume 1 book this morning (the one with the compass on the cover) and I was so encouraged! The invitation on page 8 really caught my attention:
Putting a date on your notes also serves as a kind of time capsule or travel log of your faith journey, a souvenir of God’s faithfulness in your past that helps you trust God’s faithfulness in your present and your future.
That suggestion reminded me of something I experienced just a few months ago.
My older kids and I were getting ready to take the train out to Missouri, and my daughter asked me to pack some Bible journaling stuff to work on together in the observation car. I didn’t have a lot of room in my bag, so I scanned the bookshelf for something that would fit. The hymn journals from Next Step Press caught my eye. I quick picked Ponder Anew and tossed it in my bag.
While we were on the train, I flipped through this book that I hadn’t touched in a couple of years and opened to the “How Firm a Foundation” hymn sheet. My eyes immediately flooded with tears as I saw the picture I had sketched. It showed a house built on a rock, standing firm in the middle of a storm, while a house built on the sand was being washed away. At the bottom of my sketch I had written:
Finished this while at Detroit Children’s Hospital waiting for Lydia’s heart procedure to be finished. I’m so thankful for my Firm Foundation, Jesus Christ. 7/28/20
I was immediately transported back to that hospital waiting room, on that day, with all the emotions of the moment. I remembered my fear; but I also remembered the gracious confirmations that God was with us. I remembered that, in the moment, all I had was trust in God, while my daughter was in the hands of others. I remembered that, underneath it all, there was peace, supernaturally present.
And then, of course, I was struck by the fact that, three years down the road, Lydia is healthy and strong! How often I forget God’s faithfulness in the past while worrying about “the next thing!”
Seeing this souvenir of God’s faithfulness from my past brought many tears in the middle of a crowded train (much to the embarrassment of my teenagers). And that reminder of God’s faithfulness in my past did, in fact, also remind me to trust in God’s continued faithfulness in my present, and my future.
Whatever the artifacts of your faith journey look like, I encourage you to do this: add a date and maybe a brief description of your present hope (and your present struggle). Then look back at your faith travel log from time to time; souvenirs of God’s faithfulness in your past really do help you trust God’s faithfulness in your present, and your future!