Look Forward to Something

Posted On July 4, 2020

The bible begins with “In the beginning God created.” I believe that wholeheartedly. He created me and everything I need to be happy and healthy. Because He created me, He knows what will make me healthy and happy and He reveals to me what they are through reading the bible, praying and life experiences.

I’ve learned that to be happy a person must always be looking forward to something. The bible gives many examples. Abraham looked forward to having a son. The captives in Egypt looked forward to being delivered from captivity to a land of “milk and honey.” The Jewish nation looked forward to a savior. I look forward to eternal life with God where I will have great joy and no pain!

These are big, life-changing examples. Sometimes the wait can be short; sometimes it takes centuries. But, the anticipation of looking forward to something gives us hope for a happier future.

I try to apply the principle of always looking forward to something in my life. I often feel a bit sorry for young couples who start their life together with a new house filled with new things because they have less to look forward to.

We started our married life in a three-room rental house. From the front door, you stood in the living room and could see into the kitchen and into the bedroom. Our living room furniture was rescued by my husband when he saw my cousin, Harvey, heading to the city dump with it. Our bedroom furniture was an old set of my grandfather’s. The refrigerator latch didn’t work so it had a “hook and eye” screwed into the front to keep it closed. To say the least, we looked forward to getting a better place with nicer furnishings!

Soon we were able to rent a much larger place–a three-bedroom double wide. The furniture stayed the same but we did have a place for a washer and dryer, which we purchased. I remember exactly what the sheets looked like that I used for curtains in two of the bedrooms. We only had furniture for one bedroom.

My parents owned a farm near us. They offered me and both of my sisters five acres each upon which to build a house. I was the only one to take them up on the offer. In our second year of marriage, we decided to build a basement to live in with the plan to build a house on top when we had more money. We selected a general spot in a very wooded area and planned a trip to our local bank to secure a loan. My husband has never been one who likes to wait on anything. I quickly found that out. He contacted a builder who he had worked with and before we had marked the exact spot for the basement AND before we had secured a loan, the basement was dug!!! It wasn’t exactly where I wanted it. It was too close to a large hickory tree but there was nothing to be done about it. Fortunately, we were able to secure a $10,000 loan by selling our motorcycle to use as a down payment. We planned to have very basic living quarters so we could save up for the house.

By basic, however, I didn’t realize just how basic that would be. Just as soon as the basement had a roof, exterior door and insulation in the ceiling, my husband quit his job. He came home on the last day of the month with the announcement that he had quit and we would have to move the next day so we wouldn’t have to pay another month’s rent!! I wrote earlier that life with him is full of surprises. We contacted some friends and they agreed to help us move the next day.

One friend, Janet, who helped with the move still talks about that day with amazement. She tells people, “We couldn’t believe it when we got there. The basement floor was still covered in leaves and sawdust! There were no walls framed up and no doors. We hung a curtain up in the bathroom doorway. When we would ask Leslie where to put things, she would just say, ‘I don’t know.'”

We had concrete walls, a non-sealed concrete floor and foil insulation for a ceiling. Oh how I looked forward to nicer living quarters! When we were expecting our first child, I insisted that we put some cheap carpet on the floors and we did get paneling for the walls and doors installed. After a few years of saving, Jimmy framed up the house. After living in the basement for nine years, he finally finished the house and we moved up. While living in that house for 40 years, we continually remodeled. The stairs were moved, the garage was converted into a living room and a new garage was added. We built a deck, a patio, more garages and finally a large shed. We looked forward to each of these improvements one step at a time.

I enjoyed going from renting to building and then remodeling. I was excited for each improvement. Our furniture gradually got better looking as we accepted many “hand-me-downs” from my sisters and parents and then eventually started buying new items or refurbishing special finds.

What is it you look forward to? When working, I hope you are looking forward to the next promotion, the next challenge or perhaps starting your own business. Being stuck in a job without these prospects rarely leads to satisfaction. God created us to look forward to better things. If you don’t do this at work, perhaps you should seek a different job.

I also think it is important to raise children to always look forward to something. As parents, we look forward to them walking and talking. To them being potty-trained and sleeping all through the night. Let them look forward to learning to ride a tricycle and then a bike. Give them gradual things to look forward to so they don’t “grow up too fast.” Don’t give them everything at once or they will be looking forward to things that aren’t age-appropriate. With the girls, we made them wait until 8th grade to be able to wear make-up. They couldn’t get their ears pierced until they were in high school. Then came dating, driving, getting a car, graduating, going to college, moving out on their own and marriage. With our son, it involved the bike, then BB gun, riding a mini bike and deer hunting. All of these things need to be spread out through their growing up years so that there is always something for them to look forward to. Kids that get it all too quickly don’t seem to be happy with what they have and have little to look forward to.

Our kids now look forward to all the things we used to anticipate while we look forward to spending time with the grandchildren AND look forward to them going back home! I can’t believe that what I’m looking forward to now is getting on Medicare when I turn 65 next month, but I am.

God created us and He knows that looking forward to things sustains us in the good and bad times. Currently, many people think that our world is crashing down all around us. They are looking at the past as being so much better than what the future is going to be. I prefer to look forward to how things will become better. That gives me hope and peace. Every generation experiences many difficulties. Those who live through them with hope and joy are always looking forward to better days.

Don’t be like those led out of Egypt. They didn’t live to see the promised land, because they were constantly looking back thinking they were better off in captivity instead of looking forward to what God had promised.

Live life looking forward to the weekends, time spent with family and friends, vacations and making home improvements. But above all, seek a close relationship with our Creator so that you can confidently look forward to spending eternity in His presence.