Beyond Nostalgia
Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:13
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Beyond Nostalgia
Father God we thank you for your Presence, your amazing grace, and your loving- kindness. We thank you for the priviledge of experiencing Christmas when your birth for our salvation is celebrated all over the world. Lord we give you glory for all the great things you have done for us this year.
Take our hands and lead us on into a new year. O Father this is supposed to be a very happy season, but Lord today we want to share with you how some of us are feeling nostalgic.
Nostalgia is wishful yearning for something past or irrevocable, a feeling of yearning for home and what used to be. In the holiday season we are all supposed to be very happy as we carry on with holiday preparations and expectations, but some of us pretend to be happy when we are actually going through nostalgia, wishing for something that has passed, something that is beyond us now. Some of us are thinking about childhood: times when our parents came home with gifts, our friends came around, and all the festivities and beautiful experiences of childhood. But today we are older, and if there is going to be Christmas joy, we have to transmit it. If there is going to be a happy memory for someone, it is our time to do what was done for us.
There is positive and negative nostalgia. Positive nostalgia is thinking joyously of something you used to do or something that happened to you positively. You might be thinking, I used to pray to the Lord, praise the Lord, and have a lot of faith. I used to believe. What happened to those days? If you wish for the days of your spiritual joy, spiritual harmony, prayer, praise, faith, and all the good things that have happened to you in your walk with Christ, you can make those days come back.
Negative nostalgia focuses with sadness on the good things that used to happen that do not happen anymore. Negative nostalgia is a bridge, a channel to depression. Maybe you are thinking of the loss of a loved one, a holiday season filled with children, a spouse that used to be around. Do not brood today for your portion is joy: “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength,” Nehemiah 8:10. However, joy does not always just happen. Give thanks to God for all that is done for you from January to December, for the priviledge that you are alive, and alive
in Him. Get rid of negative nostalgia, which is indicative of an emotional or social vacuum. Negativity is a threshold to depression that we cannot afford.
Talk to the Lord about your nostalgia; tell Him what you miss. If you miss your childhood, create a childhood by giving children the experience you were given. If you miss your friends, appreciate the friends around you and plan activities to make today better than yesterday. If you miss the warm weather, make your environment warm with the love of God. If you miss favourite traditions, create these traditions or participate in them. Communicate frequently with your family. Tell them you love them. Maybe you attended a party, maybe your grandmother used to cook and bake. Be that person today. Everyone should be going to a party or visiting someone, but no one is throwing a party, no one is making their home available. Do those things that have been vested in you and be a transmitter of the joy of Christmas.
If you do not know what to do with your memories, ask the Lord what to do with them. Rejoice about the good memories and thank God that the negative memories are in the past. Enjoy today because today is the cash you have and this season is a priviledge. There are many who started January with us but are no longer here. Pray, “Father God, give me the grace to move on to my present. Lord, release me from missing the childhood memories that I should be creating for the children today who are waiting for such experiences, but they are not getting them because I am still wishing in adult life to be a child again; to be pampered again. God, help me to become willing to give other children positive memories, that my nostalgia will bring about positive actions.”
Recall the things that you miss from your past and upgrade them to your present. Be proactive in the name of Jesus. May the season of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ be one of love and joy for you to the glory of His holy name. He was born to set us free so that we could have a life of wonder. As Isaiah 9:6 proclaims, He is wonderful and He is our counsellor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace. We have every reason to have a wonderful Christmas, to make a difference in the lives of others to the glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. May we keep having positive experiences in Him that our testimonies will be material for positive nostalgia, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Prayer Points:
If you are feeling lonely, I pray that you will do something for those who need your company. I pray that you have the courage to go out and visit people in the hospital, visit the elderly, and do something to transmit the love of Jesus. I pray that your Christmas will be filled with the joy of the Lord because there is meant to be joy in the world for the Lord is come. Let us sing His praises and glorify His name, in Jesus’ name we pray.
