the past behind us...

That's our first date.

Todd and Niki on the left and two of our closest high-school era friends on the right.  My Dads smokin' hot red Camaro (yes CAMARO) in the background.

Yes, I used to wear suits.  I was a Pentecostal boy--what can I say?

Our lapels and ties give it away as 1994 or so.  Glad to say our hairstyles aren't THAT outlandish.

Mind you, the fact that the foreground is out of focus helps with that.  

The foreground is out of focus--how weird is that? 

 It's likely that Niki's friend's Mom--taking the picture--was less than a practiced photog hence the mixed up focus but here's the point.

I never noticed the lack of focus 'till today.

And it doesn't really matter if the past is out of focus does it?  That's kind of the way life is, isn't it?  

Your memories are fuzzy.  You remember extremes of pain and joy, the bright moments and dark ones.  You probably don't remember oatmeal for breakfast or the simple joys of laughter around the lunch table in your high school cafeteria.  

You do remember your first date, first kiss.  It all happened the night of that fuzzy photo.

You've got no clue as to what the future holds though.

Sure, you're full of hope.  Sure, you're hoping for the best.  But did you imagine fifteen years later and four kids and ten years in a career and three houses owned and all the trips and all the cars and all the flights and the days at the beach and the nights of despair?  All the sex and joy and sorrow and pain and the slow death of self?

Not that.  You couldn't have imagined that.

And that's something to think on when crafting your stories and writing your sermons and building your business or life.

Nobody's going to remember the practical details of the 'thing' you do.  They're going to remember the high points, the moments of impact.  It's when you hit 'em between the eyes that you're going to make a lasting impression--when you knock their socks off.

Added to those bright spots, they're going to remember the long-haul.  

If you can find a way to stick at doing the thing you do for fifteen years or more, chances are, the people who join you along the way for a year or two or three, those people, they'll remember you and your passion and your message and your point.

You just got to last.

From first date to fifteen years.

Fuzzy past, fuzzy future, glowing present.

You've got to treat each moment--every chance you get to make an impact--as golden and YOUR moment, your chance to make history.

Here's hoping your (and my) work today is unto that.

Making history.

T