As I approached the building, the builders who are revamping phase 2 of our prayer centre overhaul had stripped back the frontage of the building. A sign from the past had reappeared from under the boarding that had been fixed in place for many years.
The sign in faded yellow signage paint read SALVATION ARMY HEADQUARTERS. (see picture)
The building had housed an old divisional headquarters in bygone times. It has been a long time since the yellow faded sign has seen daylight.
I felt a kind of good feeling inside.
Firstly it gave me a reminder of how far Sanctuary21 has come since it was just a picture in my head and heart. How it has actually materialized from vision to reality over a few years.
Secondly it reminded me that this building has had a past. I found myself reflecting on how the past generations of Salvationists have faithfully sought to minister in Durham. Without that we may have not had a Sanctuary 21 in Durham at all.
Thirdly it spoke to me how if we strip away the present the past will be revealed. The sign is faded and a reminder of once was, but it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the faded past sign exposed as it holds no meaning to the future.
We ain't a headquarters anymore, we are a prayer centre.
It's like that for us a bit I think.
I think it's good to remember we all have a past. And our past can be a pretty good plumb line to measure how far we have come in our lives or indeed whether we have moved on at all. How visions have or have not become a reality.
Our past can remind us of past influences and experiences that have shaped us into who we are right now.
Our past can be used to remind us we have a future. It can remind us that the fadedness of past experiences, as much as they have helped or hindered us, won't really be useful now in the present or the future.
It's good to move on.
It's good to be a movement.
I'm not the type of guy that likes to be stuck in a rut.
I've got to keep moving.
I've been like that all my life.
Some people see that as a kind of problem.
I don't.
I am what I am, and trying to be what God wants me to be.
I love that verse in the bible (Matthew 8: 28) where Jesus says, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to even lay his head."
This verse always reminds me that Jesus is always on the move.
It reminds me that spiritual movement is alive.
So I guess today for my readers it's worth asking the question, do you feel a bit stuck in the past? Do you feel the yellow faded sign of the past is being displayed in the now?
Maybe a simple message today is move on.
We are getting a really futuristic and lovely new frontage erected in phase 2 of our building. It's moving on and the past headquarters sign will be covered once again. Maybe for the last time.
But I'm glad I glimpsed it today.
I'm glad I've been reminded that I have a future. One that moves from glory to glory. A future fueled by a God that has no place to lay his head.
We are blessed by our past.
But we have to move on.
Blessings guys.
