Kev's Column: Living Life in Reverse (date unknown)

Living Life In Reverse

We all have instances in our past that we can describe as “life-changing”. Moments in time that we can look back on as pivotal events that would redefine who we are. Sometimes they are tragic. Sometimes joyful. They are not a common occurrence – in fact, their uniqueness is what makes them powerful.

I look back on a relatively short life and can remember just a few truly “life-changing” moments: the day I stopped running from God and accepted that I really can’t do it all on my own, the moment I first laid eyes on my wife, the successful job interview that would eventually move my family to the US, the birth of my three children and, sadly, the deaths of many friends on September 11, just a few years ago. I list these events for a reason, not just so you could get to know me better.

During a conversation with a man I look up to, I was recently challenged to live my life in reverse. That doesn’t mean to back up and re-do my life. It means: live today as if I could see what consequences my decisions, words and actions will have for years to come. It’s an interesting thought, eh? I have no idea what will happen two months from now, a year from now, ten years from now. But, given all my responsibilities and the people in my life today, it is a safe bet that my actions and my words will affect the futures of the people around me. For some, it may be insignificant. For others, the decisions I make today: how I choose to react to their behaviour, what words I share with them; all these factors will speak volumes into their lives for
years to come. This may be a huge responsibility, but it is also a huge blessing.

As I look at my children and see daily in them how God is raising them up in obedience and valor, I am awe-struck that God would allow me to play a part in raising them up. Lord, help me live my life, as a parent, in reverse. I’ve only been married for 14 years, so I don’t speak from a wealth of knowledge here, but I do know that I have not always, through my words and actions, been a model husband. Lord, help me live my life, as a husband, in reverse. In my what You’ve called me to do in this world, Lord, as I reach out and extend grace and healing to the hurting people you put me in contact with, help me live my life in reverse.

If, when you reach the end of your life, you could look back in a mirror and see the consequences of all your actions, words and decisions, what would you like to see? If you don’t ask yourself that question now, you leave much to folly and whim. I believe we should all take up the challenge and live our life with intention: not what we do, but how we do it. Live your life in reverse: it’s the only successful way to go forward.

copyright 2006 Kevin Stenhouse

Kevin Stenhouse is Executive Director of New Life Girls’ Home in Consecon, a ministry providing a safe place for young women coming out of addictive or abusive lifestyles.