Four Years - Eternity or Yesterday?

Four years is a really long time when you think about it. Let me try to put it in perspective for you...

-The length of term for a president is 4 years. Doesn't it seem like a long time between elections?

-High School lasts 4 years. Does anyone else remember how painfully long those years between 9th and 12th grade were?

-Most college degrees take 4 years. Maybe you had too much fun in college and the time flew by, but getting that elusive degree still takes a long time.

-On a personal level, my two boys are 4 years apart. Honestly, the time between their births felt like forever.

-Ok, the last one to make you think a little...Does anyone else have a dog? We have had our Rebel for less than 2 years, but I can hardly remember life without him. Imagine 4 years!

August 23, 2011 is a day I will never forget...4 years ago. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime away, but other times it feels like yesterday. Why?

I'm pretty sure that it feels like yesterday more often than not because a day rarely goes by that I don't think about the events of 4 years ago. Today I asked myself the question, "Does Satan cause me to remember, or does God?" Could the answer be both?

There is no question that Satan brings up the past (insert your past here) in an attempt to harm us. Things often trigger memories of 4 years ago and cause me to begin walking the roads of mistrust, fear, inadequacy, doubt, etc. However, just as God did 4 years ago, He can take what Satan means for evil and make it into something good. The question is whether or not I will allow God's strength to flow through me and embrace the opportunity I have to love, forgive, restore, learn, and grow.

But I also believe that God prompts me to remember, because He doesn't want me to forget His grace, mercy, and miraculous healing of my marriage. Throughout the Bible, God instructed His people to build altars or other symbols in order to remember His work in their lives in a particular moment in time. God showed up and showed out 4 years ago, and He doesn't want me to forget. His gentle reminders also let me know that He is not finished molding my character through those events that took place an eternity ago...or was it yesterday?

Rusty