Looking Forward And Looking Back

Today’s marked by contrasts.

I’m looking forward … to tomorrow and the start of a big adventure. In twenty-four hours we’ll depart from Lake Itasca, Mn. A 1500-mile journey of hope will be underway.

But this is also a somber anniversary.

I’m looking back … to a day that changed the world, a day known simply by a number: 9-11.

I can’t add much perspective to the horrible events of that day. That such mindless violence is even possible is evidence of a broken world. Others can comment much better that I about the significance of 9-11.

It’s necessary to look back, to remember, to honor those who sacrificed to save countless thousands of lives. We can’t afford to ignore the lessons of the attack.

But it’s dangerous to look back too much. The past can be a place of bitterness and anger. Looking back too much leads to living in the past, re-living old injuries, clinging to old resentment. Looking back too much makes it difficult to forgive.

On Saturday Becky and I had lunch with a disability support group in Fargo. We talked about adversity and frustration, but mostly we talked about hope. Folks who sit in wheelchairs, who battle debilitating mental and physical illness, gathered to celebrate hope.

You can’t find hope in the past. Hope looks forward; it’s an expectation based on faith. Hope knows that God won’t ever waste our struggles, that He bring purpose and meaning to even the most senseless circumstances.

Ten years after 9-11, I pray that all of us will choose hope, even when it makes no sense. I pray that we’ll release the hatred and unlock the self-constructed doors of unforgiveness that imprison us.

I’m looking back a little, but mostly I’m looking forward. Tomorrow is a special day—but that’s always true when you choose hope.

A few years ago the journey we’re beginning would have been impossible. Now we’re doing it.

Hope changes what’s possible.

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We have another fun little piece of technology to add some interest to the ride. I’ll be carrying a little GPS device that plots my location every ten minutes or so—assuming that I remember to turn it on correctly. So on each ride day you’ll be able to watch my progress and answer the question: Where’s Rich?

We played with it on our drive, so today it shows part of the route we followed from Colorado. You’ll note that I forgot to activate it until we reached Nebraska.

You can bookmark the page and check in occasionally. I’m not sure if we’ll wipe the page clean each day or let it run and accumulate a record of the entire journey.

Either way, I hope you’ll follow along. It’s going to be fun.