A strange thing happened as I stood in line to pay for my drink this week at our local coffee shop. A band came on the TV and started playing, and it was a good song. You know, one of those intros that gets you tapping your foot even though you may not know the song. But once they started singing, I knew I’d heard it before, and by before, I mean almost 30 years ago.
The person taking my money said, “That’s a great song,” and when I mentioned that I used to sing it when I was growing up in church (and with goofy hand motions, too), she seemed surprised that it wasn’t a new song. I made a comment that if you live long enough, everything eventually comes back.
That’s good and bad news. The good news is that we don’t have to really do anything but wait, and eventually what we have will make a comeback. Your clothes and your music are obvious examples, but what about the deeper issues. Stuff like children who have wandered away from you, from the faith you taught them. Dreams that you’ve put on the shelf and time has now covered with dust.
Live long enough, and those can make a comeback, too.
The bad news? There could be quite a bit of time that you will live looking like a fool. People who don’t dress according to the current trends run the risk of being labeled “out-dated” or “out of fashion.” Sure, if they keep wearing the same clothes, eventually the style they love will return, but in the meantime they will stick out like a sore thumb.
Ever heard of Noah? Building a boat to float on water when the world has never even known rain? That’s not trendy. It’s not relevant. It’s actually just plain weird. But he stayed with it, he didn’t give up, he “lived long enough” for the trends to shift, and when the rain came, Noah was right where he needed to be.
We’ve all got things that seem old and used up. Relationships, passions, 80’s disco music. Sometimes we think about what we hoped for, and frantically start watching late-night informercials for the product that will bring life to what we consider dead and gone. But the answer isn’t 5 quick steps, but one rather long one.
Wait.
If you live long enough, hold on long enough, stand stubbornly enough without being tossed around by the changing whims all around you, eventually everything comes back.
Someday, your dream will burst out of the cocoon ready to fly. Your phone will ring and the voice on the other end will be your child telling you he’s coming back to the Lord. The lights will come on and people will start dancing to the 80’s music that you once danced to. It’s all about time, and usually, the last one standing has a pretty good chance of winning.
So, as Paul said in Ephesians 6, after you have done everything, just stand. Wait. Don’t move a muscle. You might feel a little out of place as others around you are moving on, but don’t worry. Eventually, with enough time, everything makes a comeback.
Well, hopefully not mullets.
