A New Year Thought

Life today has evolved into a massive conglomeration of things to entice our imaginations, and our identities.  So much to do, and choose from, that there is very little time to spend on God.. 

So my BIG QUESTION ARE:  

Does that mean that we have stopped believing in God?  

Or, does that mean we have lost faith in God? 

My answer is No.  No — with a 'but' quickly following. 

It has become so important to do other things that make us feel excited and passionate.  So many things to do and people to see. No time to think or feel just go, go, go.

And God seems to be there only when we need him.  Taken for granted in the steam of life. What we don’t realize is that God is ever present even when we don’t think we need him.

So, what all of this memory wondering has created in me is a need to know  To know: how does God fit in our world today?

Allow me to reminisce a moment about when the life of God's people was full of the simple joys of faith as usual.  A time in my life much like anyone's life who is now 65 years or older. 

Our days and weeks were something like this:  School during the week with play time after school, either on the playground or someone's backyard. When the only organized activities were Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or school athletic, or little league.  

A time when boardgames were the big sit-down events in our live.  

In our small town the big weekly events were family roller skating, on Wednesday night, at the local tennis courts.  They had popular rock-n-roll, and music of the forties, playing over the loud speakers,  A most wonderful night.

Our week ends filled with high school football, basketball, baseball games, or track, on Saturday afternoons.  No night games.  No lights.  Church on Sunday with family time in the afternoon; when the normal assumption was that that day was to be a God day.  No shopping, no, no, no.

Our huge yearly event was the 49er parade; which was an all weekend affair.  With the Lyon Club bar-b-q at the Indian Wells Valley pool, about 5 miles out of town, where the entire town came to be together, swim, dance, visit and have the most delicious pork cook underground over night.  Nuuuummmm!

Our major monthly event was dancing at The Club.  Not a country club; but a community building where all town events took place.  There was a bowling alley downstairs with a soda fountain.

Except for those big dances at the club and high school event.  Most social, and other gatherings, were at the church.

God, it seem to me, was front and center in one’s life.