Nostalgia (noun): wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to former time in one’s life, to one’s home, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time
Worry is a sign I’m living in the future. Nostalgia, on the other hand, is a sign I’m living in the past. In both situations, I’m missing out on the present.
Nostalgia is about “looking back”, but God’s direction is FORWARD. The homesickness I feel, that wistful yearning, is misdirected toward the past but it really is the desire God planted in me to seek Him. That “home” I seek while in a state of nostalgia is the home I have in Christ. The Hebrew word used for “salvation” in King James Bibles means “to come home.”
Nostalgia can dampen the hope I have in Christ Jesus and can halt progress towards healing from trauma and addictions. Recovery lies in the future, not in the past. Each day presents a choice: Repeat or evolve. Nostalgia restricts evolution, inhibits my transformation into the new creation He keeps calling me to be.
I don’t want to shut the door on my past, but I don’t want to idolize it either. God even instructs us not to spend too much time in the past.
This is what the Lord says – “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” Isaiah 43:18
It’s enjoyable to re-live fond memories, recall stories from the past. But it’s easy to get stuck there. I may think “my best days are behind me” and wallow in a constant state of nostalgia. That’s certainly not what God wants for His children! The Psalmist says it best:
This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
When I focus too much on how much I miss “the old days” of my son’s childhood, I end up missing the current joy of my son’s teen years. If I am nose-down in a scrapbook, I lose awareness of the moment happening around me – the preciousness of experiencing my boys as they are today.
When feeling nostalgic, instead of pulling out an old scrapbook, home video or yearbook, perhaps a better alternative might be to open a bible to read about “the many rooms” that Jesus has prepared for us in Our Father’s House (John 14:2). To recognize our longing is for our true home, in communion with God and all creation, seeing Jesus face to face.
Then consider what thoughts and actions can help bring that Kingdom more to Earth – to build that home here and now. Through giving love and kindness, tearing down walls, and building community with strangers and neighbors. I don’t want to spend my “golden years” in a constant state of nostalgia, regurgitating past happiness in attempt to taste the pleasure again. I want to create and cultivate joy, to live in the present, and to seek the beauty of each day – every day for the rest of my life. To keep growing in Love of God and of People. To hold onto the belief that each day can be better than the last one, and that truly my best days are yet to come.
The rearview mirror is small for a reason as compared to the windshield. We’re supposed to spend less time looking back than we do looking forward. A dose of nostalgia is good medicine now and then. A look back once in a while as a way to increase the gratitude in our hearts or as a way to identify life lessons.
Just don’t linger too long, such that the happy nostalgia turns to melancholy. Pensive sadness, loneliness, emptiness. Comparing a past “happy place” to a present moment is dangerous and disrespectful to the present. It’s akin to comparing someone else’s highlight reel to our lowlight reel.
Brief moments of nostalgia that bring gratitude and joy into my present – YES!
Extended periods of nostalgia that bring melancholy and sorrow into my present – NO!
I have used nostalgia as an escape mechanism to live in the past and avoid reality of the present. I don’t want to keep re-living old memories – I want to create new ones each day. To use the happiness of the past memory to stir up hope in my present. My aim today is to create a moment that will be a source of nostalgia in the future.
I have great days behind me.
I have great days ahead of me.
But today is the only one I have NOW.
Lord, I thank you for the people, places, and events of my past that brought happiness to my life. I trust your plans to bring people, places and events of happiness into my future. I relish in the moment of now, the only place in time where I can truly receive Your Love – the greatest present of all. Amen