Behind can be left back there instead of taking or bringing it with me.
Behind is not up to date.
Not here and now.
Not at work, at the appointment, or where I'm supposed to be because I'm behind in time. I'm late.
Behind in achievement. Staying a grade behind in school so I can catch up and won't be behind any more.
Behind is in back of something else and often hidden from sight.
My header is tangelos in Carla's Tucson yard. Carla left us behind when she went on to glory not long ago.That means I've left Tucson and Arizona behind for now. The Sonoran desert claimed my heart long ago, so you know I'll go back because I can't let it stay behind forever.
Which aspect of Behind will I write to today? One of loss, of what's become past, of what's not with me any more. For a long time that was a common feature in this blog, but at some point I sort of gave up. I stopped the questions and the laments. The left behind past was an ongoing topic; part of my consternation was the many new stories starting to be written and then erased. How many times did I say, "this next thing will work," and then it didn't?
I never intended to leave those people, jobs, ministries, activities, pleasures and delights behind in the past. I trusted I was taking them with me to the next place that would add to them and enhance them. Those losses happened at the core of my identity, at the foundation of my expectations. Does that sound like an entry in a middle school journal? Somewhat. But those middle school kids often are at a happy point in which they haven't left visceral emotions and opinions behind. They don't know that adulting means not expressing themselves in such graphic dramatic terms.
What's your take on "behind" today?
There are people I should leave behind bc of their mistreatment. But the love of Christ compels me to keep loving them. In God’s kingdom, nothing makes sense. But one day we’ll understand when we see them face to face.
ReplyDeleteAt the foot of old Mount Lemon,
ReplyDeletegazing up to Finger Rock,
I know the greatest sermon
is so much idle talk
compared to that bright hushing wind
that writes in desest dust
that I'm forgiven, though I've sinned,
and sins be left to rust
in dry washes that come down
between the sere calm hills
that in summer wear a gown
of light green as the monsoon wills
that place that's ever claimed my heart
to a new refreshing start.
Loss and disillusionment can make it hard for us to move forward. I pray the Lord brings you healing and new beginnings. This was a poignant take on the word. Visiting from FMF#7
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a very poignant and honest take on the prompt. I too pray, with Kym, for healing of those past losses and that the Lord would open the door to a happy new begining.
ReplyDelete