Great Lakes Church Great Lakes Church

Most of our adolescence is spent racing to get older – and to some degree, getting away from
Mom and Dad. Then as adults we will often continue the same pursuit. We want to become our
own person and blaze our own trail in the world. Normal? Yes. Sometimes resulting in mistakes
and regret because we ignored the past and failed to contextualize it today? Yes. So how do we
do it differently? How do we become the generation that presses into the future with all the
lessons from the generations before us?

Have you ever noticed that two people can go through the same experience and come out of it with different feelings about what happened? It happens all the time; including with family. Parents, siblings and even cousins can have almost opposite stories about the way things were growing up. The narrative is in the mind of the one telling the story. Who we come from is framed by who we are today.

A moment can change everything. One decision to be different, think different and move different can end a legacy or start a new one. That’s a good thing…sometimes a bad one. Either way, we have the ability to change the future and do it different.

Every so often we are asked why we don’t like a certain person, party or sports team. And often our answer is, “Because my dad doesn’t like them.” And he would likely say something along those lines for why he doesn’t like them. We’re spending parts of our lives angry aacznd bitter but don’t have to. If we choose to see others through a different lens, we might get to change the generations-long story.

From adolescence to adulthood, most of us can resonate with struggling to find our identity. As we grow and change, we wonder “where do I fit?” and “how does God want to use me?” Our church has asked a lot of those same questions– and over the course of 15 years we’ve been able to hone in on what kind of church we want to be in this community. We’re just getting started!

What do you do when your now isn't the now your later had in mind? Sometimes our best-laid plans fall apart and the situation in front of us will change where we're headed forever. How will you respond?