Retro Vision

It seems easier than ever to get lost in the reverie of yesteryear these days. I was looking at some old snapshots (remember those?) going back to the 70s. They were of my uncle Jim standing behind the counter of a neighborhood delicatessen he owned and operated on Chicago's South Side: Jim's Finer Foods. Together with my grandmother, they ran this store for years, living upstairs in a building that ranged from the questionable to the decrepit. One picture I saw had the photographer shooting out the store's front door. The photo was of the gas station across the street and some trees. The station and trees are long gone now. My uncle and grandma are too.

As you can imagine, that Chicago neighborhood has changed a bit over the years. Like my relatives and that streetscape, the store is gone, leveled to make way for two-story apartment buildings that are also showing their age and decay. A half century is a lot of water under the bridge when it comes to the march of civilization. Almost 50 years ago astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were bopping around on the lunar surface. If you're old enough, you remember the grainy black and white TV images of them near the lunar module, planting the U.S. flag, and becoming the first two men to set foot on the moon. And what about 50 years from now? Where will we be then? It's hard to say, but I bet we'll still be pining away (at least at times) for the good ole days of yesteryear.

I suppose that why retro TV is taking off around the country. Television programmers realized there's a huge market of 50-plus folks out there who still love the programs they grew up with and watched as young adults. Now, even without cable, viewers can watch shows like Mayberry R.F.D., Columbo, Perry Mason, Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H, Mangum P.I. and a few dozen more, on stations wholly dedicated to these golden oldies. With the world in flux around us and times unsure as they are, it's nice to bask in the silly nonsense of Hawkeye and Trapper's latest gag on Frank Burns or tune in while Lt. Columbo outwits and unnerves his suspects in his grinding search for the truth.

Looking back can give us a chance to catch our mental breath during times of turmoil and uncertainty.

Where do you go when you need to step back from it all? Do you have a favorite retreat you retire to? How about a hobby? Is there something you engage in when you want to get away and refresh your perspective?

Have you received any sage advice from a mentor or peer you can pass along? If so, you can share your insights by clicking here.

When the Brain Won't Do

"I can't wrap my mind around that." The first time I heard that phrase I didn't like it. I wondered what was wrong with the good old, tried-and-true admission: "That just doesn't make sense"? But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. It portrays the drive we humans feel to make sense of our lives and our world.

We don't like to pass by unsolved mysteries. Wise Solomon had it right when he wrote, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out" (Proverbs 25:2). Most people want to know the reason things happen, and the more unclear the matter is, the more annoyed we feel, until we have a rational solution.

So often in life, especially in our relationship with God, that is what we are trying to do. We want to figure out why God has allowed difficulty, sorrow, loss or grief in our lives. We want to wrap our minds around something our minds aren't big enough to get wrapped around. I remember an eighth-grader in confirmation class who was bound and determined to figure out the Trinity. She wasn't satisfied with the glimpse of the three Persons in one God. She tried to shrink God down and fit Him into a nice, little box she could wrap her mind around. The trouble with that is if simple creatures like us can figure out God, He wouldn't be much of a God, would He?

I often hear people try to understand what God is doing in the events in their lives. They ask, "Why is God treating me this way?" or "What is God trying to tell me?" That's a really dangerous game to play, especially when we try to wrap our minds around things that are so complex, and we have such a limited point of view.

God put our mind-wrapping quest in perspective when He said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). There are times when we need to put down the box, stop trying to stretch our minds, and simply trust Him like a child. Let God be God -- and praise Him that He is, and ask Him to remind us that we are not.

Humans are born to ask questions, it seems. From these we learn and navigate our way through life. What are some things you've tried to wrap your mind around? You can give us your comments by clicking here.