A couple of elderly men were
sitting in the park chatting about days gone by,
when a pretty young woman came
into view and walked past. Seconds later a
young man appeared, walking
just a bit faster than the young woman, and
gaining steadily on her.
The first old man gazed after
the couple and said, ‘Do you remember when we
used to chase pretty girls down
the street?’ His friend hardly stirred and replied
wearily, ‘Yes I do remember how
we used to chase them, but I can’t for the life
of me remember why.’
If you are associated with the
academic/educational world then September is
the month of new beginnings.
For the rest of us however it marks the end of
summer, the beginning of autumn
and the long months running up to
Christmas. The backend of the
year as some might say. It is a time when
perseverance and commitment
seem like good characteristics to have. Not
surprising then that some
people speak of the September blues.
With any enterprise it is often
the second half, the latter stages, which seems
to be the hardest. Whether it
is sports, DIY projects, shopping trips or acts of
service to others – starting is
often the easy bit. The idea is fresh and new and
you are full of energy and
excitement. Then as time passes enthusiasm wanes
and tiredness takes over. To
reach the end we need to learn to persevere.
This is often true of our
spiritual as well as physical life experience. When we
first came to faith in Jesus
Christ there was an excitement and expectancy.
Our experiences of church, the
bible and prayer were fresh and new. Then as
the years move on faith can
become, if we are honest, just a little duller and
our spiritual hopes and
aspirations lessen.
It is at times like this that
we need to remind ourselves of why we came to faith
in Jesus Christ in the first
place. The book of Hebrews encourages us to do
just that:
