{"id":7468,"date":"2014-09-14T07:15:24","date_gmt":"2014-09-14T11:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allandouglas.dougbittinger.com\/blog\/?p=7468"},"modified":"2025-04-21T01:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:56:39","slug":"future-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/future-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"THE FUTURE IN PERSPECTIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Calvin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Someone has said, “The future is not what it used to be.”\u00a0 Although filled with fertile thought the author of this statement is unknown.\u00a0 Perhaps we could speculate as to the disposition of the person who would make such a comment.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe it was a pessimist who had a dismal attitude toward the future.\u00a0 It may reflect someone’s inability to express hope.\u00a0 In this person’s mind the negative may dominate the positive always creating a bleak outlook.\u00a0 He or she may have become so disillusioned with life there is little for which to look forward.\u00a0 It is an unsettling way to live for those who feel the best is behind them and the future can never be what it used to be.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On the other hand, however, the comment may have come from an optimist.\u00a0 The statement could express great hope in the future.\u00a0 This person may sense that the greatest days are ahead.\u00a0 In this person’s mind the positive always prevails over the negative creating a sense of hopeful anticipation.\u00a0 If the future is not what it used to be, it could be better.\u00a0 It is a beautiful way to live and has the backing of the scriptures which point to an end time of joy and celebration.\u00a0 It is a matter of faith that we trust the processes of life to lead us to God’s special future.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It may be possible that the statement was made by an older person who is trying to adjust to change.\u00a0 The kinds of things he or she anticipated early in life are no longer a reality.\u00a0 The years have taken their toll and the future looks different through aging eyes.\u00a0 It is not a matter of the future being better or worse.\u00a0 It is simply different.\u00a0 Changing times give an older perspective a new vision.\u00a0 The future is not what it used to be because nothing is what it used to be.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Furthermore, the statement could have been made by a young person.\u00a0 It may be that young eyes do not see a future as bright as their predecessors.\u00a0 Youth have a way of questioning and challenging a system they feel has jeopardized their future.\u00a0 They also have a capacity to dream the impossible dream.\u00a0 They have time and health on their side.\u00a0 For them the future can be what they make it.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Whether optimist or pessimist, young or old, the words of a gospel song may speak best to us about the future.\u00a0 “Many things about tomorrow, I do not seem to understand, but I know Who holds the future and I know Who holds my hand.”<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Note from Doug<\/h2>\n

Calvin ended this post with “I know Who holds the future and I know Who holds my hand.”<\/span> and I’m glad he knew these things because on September 10th, 2014 Calvin Metcalf took the hand of Jesus and went home.\u00a0 He has been a pastor, teacher, mentor and friend, and I shall miss him.\u00a0 But I know his soul is safe in heaven, probably playing golf with his grandson, Jonathan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

     Someone has said, “The future is not what it used to be.”  Although filled with fertile thought the author of this statement is unknown.  Perhaps we could speculate as to the disposition of the person who would make such a comment.      Maybe it was a pessimist who had a dismal attitude toward the … Continue reading “THE FUTURE IN PERSPECTIVE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-7468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matters-of-faith","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19175,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7468\/revisions\/19175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}