Journal 2017

I don’t know why, but I am a collector of written records from my life. Perhaps it’s because I have such a poor memory and I want to offload information from my brain to make room for the present. Perhaps it’s because I wish my parents had kept more records of their life. Billions of people have lived and died without any more recorded evidence of their existence than their birth and death dates, so maybe this is my attempt at leaving a trail behind for my girls or a grandchild who’s doing research on his
ancestry.

I have four filing cabinets; four plastic totes filled with old calendars, scrapbooks, and journals; and multiple computer files chronicling all the compartments of my life. I maintain databases of contacts (categorized by personal, ministry, and business), lists of addresses where we’ve lived, books I’ve read, and trips we’ve taken. One spiral-bound notebook catalogs all our medical records, and I keep all notes from various committee meetings. I can tell you where we went on most anniversaries and can quickly pull up all the family recipes. Want to know what our family did each year? I may not be able to recall, but it’s recorded in our annual New Year’s letters.

The Apostle Paul’s steps were ordered by the Lord—literally. Others before me have mapped out his travels and recorded the highlights of his career. Luke records the facts; rarely does he analyze or zero in on the thoughts and motives of Paul and his companions. The book of Acts is not a biography per se, but a historical record, a history book entry. It is only in hindsight, as we recount our stories, that we begin to see the patterns emerge and the very distinct hand of God in every move.

Luke’s record has survived for 2000 years, and we study it and scrutinize and dissect it and try to visualize it—because it is in the canon of Scripture. My life is no less chosen and orchestrated and directed by the Holy Spirit, but I do not anticipate my writings will impact any more than a few friends who might be interested in what I have to say. The records I’ve kept over the years may all end up in the trash someday, and that’s okay, for what’s really important is the footprint I’ve left on people’s hearts.