History and Future Hope

I did not want to go to bed last night so I decided to rummage through my room. This happens whenever I am at my parents; inevitably I go through things - throw things out rearrange them, etc. One of the things I decided to do was clear out this beautiful trunk because I want to bring it down to South Carolina:

In it were my journals (which I moved to my book shelf):

I counted them - twenty seven journals (though a few of them were quite small) so far.
This is my history, my past, yet so much a part of who I am. In these I have poured out my heart to God over various matters and in these God has answered in profound ways.
I love the documentation of the past - the stories and the perspective it provides. Through the past we can see God working in and through the dark hours, we can see those half hearted, not really believed prayers be answered in the present. We can also see the big, bold prayers come to fruition in ways we never would have imagined. We see that God is not a dead God, but is living, active and intimately involved in our lives; he will not sit idly by. The reminder of the past spurs hope and faith for the future that God will continue to work but we must learn to wait on his timing.