Would You Like to Borrow My Retrospectoscope?

We’ve heard the saying over and over again, “Hindsight is 20/20”. Or what about, “If I knew then what I know now”. Countless times in life we look back and find ourselves thinking, “Now it all makes sense”.

My friend, Sarah, and I met for supper last night. Too many months had passed since we just sat down to catch up; we were long overdue. Sarah and I have experienced many of the same struggles in life. We’ve also known some of the same joys. It’s always time well-spent when we’re together.

One of my favorite things to do is to look back at various times in my life and reframe from my updated perspective. What seemed so confusing is now relatively clear. The dots are all connected. The final piece is in place. At the very least, time has managed to build a bridge over the chasm that once loomed. I now call this my retrospectoscope. I’d like to take credit for coming up with that word, but I can’t. I heard it recently (maybe a Beth Moore video that I was watching?) and the word just stuck.

Whether it’s considering the poor choices of my teenage years, the scary and uncertain times of being a 21-year-old single mom, or the conversations I’ve had recently in my office, I can say without a doubt that God has proven Himself in each situation. Even when I was heading the wrong direction, He kept being God. Whether I had my eyes fixed on Him or not, He kept being God. That impossible thing? That’s what He specializes in; because, well, He’s God.

Sarah and I recounted the goodness of God in every single area of our lives. Our previous marriages that failed? The goodness of God. Our kids and how they’ve learned and adjusted in all of the craziness of life? The goodness of God. Our friends who’ve weathered the battering of the storm with us? The goodness of God. The way He keeps healing, restoring, strengthening, encouraging, and sustaining? The goodness of God. That retrospectoscope is coming in handy.

I’ve come to be so overwhelmed by His love for me and to me that I just can’t put enough words to paper. He calls us to remember. And that’s precisely what I’m gonna do. Keep that retrospectoscope handy in my pocket at all times.

I Chronicles 16:12 ~ Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.