I was at church yesterday and was looking up the scripture that was being taught on. I have been doing this little thing in my bible for many years where I will write the date and the speaker’s name by the scripture that is being discussed.

Yesterday I began to look through those little notes that I had written in the margins of my bible. It was like walking back through time. There were notes in the margins from various preachers, pastors, teachers and conferences I have attended over the years. I was given the bible in 1987 by my mother and father in-law when I was ordained as a Deacon at our Baptist church. I was 29 years old at the time and the gift of that bible has remained with me all these years.

As I went through the dates, I began to remember where we were at physically at the time as well as where we were financially. The late eighties and early 90’s were a very difficult financial period in our lives because I had purchased some fast food restaurants as an investment and it did not go well. Long story short, except for the grace of God, we would have lost everything we had because of that investment. Therefore when I looked at those dates my bible I began to remember that period of my life.

The oldest entries in the bible were a series of red ink notes I had made probably 10 different times at 10 different scriptures. They were titled “The Secrets of Success.” The date was June 28, 1988 and I wrote those words from a cabin we had rented near Vogel State Park in the North Georgia Mountains. I have reread those notes countless times over the years because at the time they were written, they were like a life line to me in a very difficult time.

Sometimes it is easy to forget what God has done in our lives. Time moves on and the desperation you may have felt at the time has passed. I don’t necessarily believe it is a good thing to dwell on the past but I do believe it is helpful to go back and realize again how you got where you are today, how you got through difficult periods in your life and the grace that God covered you with years ago.

Going back sometimes helps you to go forward. KT