nostalgia in perspective

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”

For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Ecclesiastes 7:10

I’m easily nostalgic. I love getting together with old friends, talking about the joys of past experiences, laughing and sharing in fun stories from the bonds of friendship that has spanned decades. It is one of the unique perspectives of being just a tick past middle age now. This is irreplaceable. Cue Springsteen singing “Glory Days”.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with this sort of reminiscing as long as we realize that the past gets pretty polished in our memories. There have been decades of life, hard choices, bad situations, and many losses since my youth. But the life lived in between then and now hasn’t been “bad”. The past is not really better than all that. In fact, if I really reflect on life in my teens and twenties, I was discontent then… longing to get on with life, ready for bigger challenges, wanting adventure (even the tough ones), longing to be married, to have a family, and to do all the things that frankly, I have done and I am currently doing.

This verse warns us that to be stuck in an overly-nostalgic view of the past is unwise. The “good old days” had their bad side too! “Glory Days” could be gory days, carrying with them trauma and pain we may bury deep. We should remember the pains, not just the pleasures, of our youth. A wise person should celebrate the memories, learn from the mistakes, accept the consequences, rejoice in the blessings, and praise the God Who makes our past redeemed in grace (despite the trauma done to us and the bad choices we may have made) through Jesus Christ!

A wise person anchors in God’s gracious work in the past. Wisdom applies that work to all present situations, whether they be smooth or rough. The past interprets the present well when by faith we celebrate where God has taken us to accept life AS IT IS NOW! And a proper God-saturated view of a past (embracing difficulties, losses, loves, gains… all of it!) helps even the challenges of an uncertain future (physical pains, changes, future goals, desires, and hopes of joy yet to come) frame for us an excited anticipation of what God will do in us and for us. Wisdom knows that it all ends in the glorious freedom of the children of God! The journey there (right now) is better than our past and is good in our present experiences because God is always good and will always be good to those He loves!