“When you’re 25 years old, 35 seems so far away. But when you’re 35 years old, 45 seems so close.”
So I said to my spouse at lunchtime today. I brought over some of my old file folders from the house to the office last week, and I spent this morning going through them. Some of these folders had stuff in them from my first year of ministry. Some of them had stuff in them from my internships. (Do you remember dot matrix printers? I do now, yikes!) Some of them even had stuff from my college days. And buddy, let me tell you – that feels ancient!
I pitched 80% of it. Maybe more.
I saved the sermons (even the bad ones), and I saved the illustrations folder, and the “encouragement” file, and the folders with contact info in them. But the rest got pitched – the board meeting minutes, the elders’ meeting notes, the old lessons, the notes taken on hundreds of sermons, dozens of youth group meeting outlines, and much more.
I looked through a lot of them before they found their way to the round file. It was pretty nostalgic. When you’re throwing away stuff that you’ve worked on – stuff that you’ve poured little bits of your heart and soul and life and energy into – it can be tough. It was tough on me today.
When you’re 36 years old, and you throw out most of the files of your life, it makes you think about what life will be like in another 10 years. Will the work of your hands in the next 10 years be productive? Will it be fruitful? Will it make a difference? Will it be significant?
Will your life matter?
9:47pm
Such a familiar feeling… all of it!
Turning 40 a week ago, I realized how much closer 50 & 60 was… Oh… it makes you feel old in a hurry!
The rest… been there, done that!!
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Side note: I’m caught up now on your blogs… Again, it’s great to hear from you… Keep up the great work & talk to you later!
*Hugs from Ohio*
)
10:46am
hi nate ~
is it spring up there in the great north yet?! hmmm… methinks spring is a state of mind. er, sorry, yer blog must’ve prompted my philosophical musing : ) speaking of the great north, how’s steve doing? i miss you guys!
your file purging twitter (tweet? or, since this is a blog, “bleat”? : ) made me think of having gone thru the same process in the past year in regard to purging my Heartsong files…. lots of sadness for the loss of something very special musically, spiritually and relationally; but no regrets for having taken a “no compromise” stand for the integrity of worship. lately i’ve been seeking God for clarity on what He would have me learn from that experience, and the Holy Spirit has already revealed some insights beyond the obvious (that it was not about me!) but that is a “bleat” for another day. btw, i also have a few thoughts on train wrecks, having been in (and engineered!) a few myself : )
i’ll be checking back often (cue sonny & cher’s “and the (ahem…) “bleat” goes on….”
10:19pm
Good to hear from you Keith! Are you guys still going to that church you had found about 6 months ago? I can’t remember where it was or what the name of it was. I do remember that you were enjoying soaking it in and being fed for a little while….
6:26am
Your life matters my friend. Those notes and papers mattered too. Sure, they are just pieces of paper and can go to the recycling bin but those memories will last. Every day with each new moment, you take those experiences and apply them to the next situation that presents itself. Whether it is learning how to read Dr. Seuss books in the correct character voice to your daughter, finding just the perfect illustration for the people you serve, or maybe, just maybe, figuring out how to start filing all of that information electronically in a database that can be recalled and stored in an endless sea of space.
Welcome to the 21 century Nate.
Or alternatively, you could have Sue and Vern scrapbook them all for you in neat binders.
BL out.
10:27pm
Thanks BL. Really, all this post was about was fishing for some encouragement, an “atta boy,” a “keep up the good work.”
Ok, not really.
Actually, I tried to get my church secretary to type these lessons up at one time so that I COULD save them electronically. She told me to get lost lol. Ok, not in so many words. But it didn’t happen….
At the rate that our spouses scrapbook, I’d get one lesson done every 2-3 years. What do they do at those things? They are there for 9 hours and come home with 2 pages done! And they’re EXCITED about it!
Yikes.
9:56pm
Hey Nate,
You are efficient and on the ball. I just recently did this and this was after 30 some years. It is difficult to throw away things you have worked on through the years. It’s like throwing away your hard work–your creativity–God’s mind working through yours. It is also great to see the progress you have made in the faith.
Love,
Dad