Looking back…

Bill Lambert

The happenings in our lives are like prophecies – you can’t understand their significance until after they have happened. It’s only when you look back that you see a pattern emerging.

Some of life’s most painful events emerge in retrospect as turning points.

When my first marriage collapsed, my world seemed to crash out of control. I lost my confidence, my job and had to sell a home I loved and into which I had put a huge amount of work.

In fact, this challenging time proved to be the turning point when I reached maturity and took positive control of my life and my future.

Good experiences followed – like the wonderful second marriage six years later. Like starting my own consulting business in marketing and public relations which proved to be the most fulfilling ten years in my working life.

Then there was the disastrous fire which consumed our home six years ago, together with my prized library of books and music - and most everything else. We just said: ”Thank you, God, for all those gifts which we enjoyed. You can have them back with our acceptance.”

Wonderful gifts followed which met our special needs – including the new house which greatly improved the value of the property and helped us to buy the lovely spacious villa with a superb view, in the retirement village where we are living.

What I now realise is that most of the bad patches in my life were largely the result of my own faulty decisions. Nevertheless, on each occasion God had a contingency plan ready with new opportunities. But I had to open the new doors He presented.

It has been a vivid faith experience each time to realise this, bringing me closer to God in faith and trust.

Now, late in life, I have no fears for the future. I’m happy to leave it in God’s hands.
e-mail: the.lamberts@paradise.net.nz