day 1186: Immigration to the Future

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 

There is lots of talk about U.S. immigration and whether or not we will figure this thing out and rewrite the laws to make sense for where America is today.  I didn't grow up with first generation immigrants, but Patti did and she saw firsthand what it was like to have the courage and drive to immigrate from one country to another, to make a better life for oneself and  family.  Living in Texas in the 90's and California today, we have met many immigrants and they are no less ambitious, hardworking and courageous than those who came through Ellis Island.  Which brings me to a point to consider. We are all immigrants when it comes to moving from the past to the future.  We come from a place of yesterday (as the Facebook posts like to remind us that we in my generation grew up without cell phones, Twitter, without flat screens, ipods, etc.) and walk into the future as unprepared and bare of belongings as the immigrant who goes to another country with nothing but the clothes on their back. And yes, this takes no less courage to not get stuck where we are, but instead to move forward into the future with optimism, hope and an open mind.  The same is true with our businesses and our careers.  If we are not willing to immigrate to the future with all that comes with it, then we are, and will literally be, stuck in the past.

As we live in the world around us, we also must think about what it means to immigrate to the future in how we work and live purposefully to bring glory to God in all that we do.  What we have is God's Word to be the guide for us and His Holy Spirit to move us along the right paths into the future. As believers and followers of Jesus, we should have no fear of the future and we should daily be standing on its threshold embracing and bounding forward with what can come.  As I consider what we will miss when it is our time to go see God, it is that we will miss the future. So, what are we doing to immigrate ahead of the rest to influence and create a future that is bright and positive to others?  We can have that influence in our lives, in our jobs, and in the interactions around us daily.

Reference: Psalm 119:105 (New Living Translation)