Flipping Through The Past Spinning Towards the Future

Belem
Belem
Aug 31, 2018 · 4 min read

The Past Coloring Book

Sitting on my window-side and reading the childhood book that was passed out to my sisters about two decades ago during church in Ethiopia; I feel the tender thin pages, yellowed away with time, and I think about how fast time has simply blown away. The only thing holding these frail pages together is the binding at the center — just like my future will be held together by the foundation that my parents laid for me in the past in wisdom through Christ. The colors my sisters marked the coloring book with is everlasting, just like my relashinship with the Creator. The words, ‘God created the heavens and earth’ are not only forever inked in the old pages but forever stamped in my heart. Everytime I see the pages I remember how life is so much bigger than I think it is. The warm sun and the tinted red faded memories I have of Ethiopia are of laughter with my family and my home, but my early childhood in America was only so because of my three year short up-bringing in Ethiopia. As a child staring at this book, I would wonder what memories would have been created if I stayed.

The New Globe of Wonder

One of the first things my family purchased in beautiful America was a globe. Sitting on top of the cupboard in my room, it shows me the ocean that took my life from disadvantaged to privliged. I realize that my life would not have been as beautiful as it is now if I hadn’t gotten aboard the plane. Looking into the North Atlantic Ocean not only makes me forever thankful, but reminds me of my connection to both sides of the world. Feeling 100% American and 100% Ethiopian I am filled with a suprising sense of perfectly fitting. My life now is not in control, and even if I have nothing to be seen yet, I know I am well because I have the passion and the drive given to me by the one who stretched the skies out like curtains. The globe reminds me of the vastness of my future while reminding me of the diversity of this world; I am constantly filled with a an urge to testify of the good that was bestowed upon my life. This globe reminds of my devotion to live a life filled with the grace of Christ, looking at the continents I feel empathetic because I know that not everyone has this chance of education that was gifted to me.

Perfumed Life

What my future holds for me is unknown. But because of what I have learned from those around me and through what my powerful short exprieances have taught me. I strongly believe that like dry rose petals which have more fragrence when they are dried, I also will thrive in beauty and honor after my life on earth. I am filled with strong confidence that He is my shield and the one who paves my path. Once again I am reminded of the childhood verse ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ and I am filled with assuration that my life will be a marathon — a run towards the light and life and truth. The roses in the shape of a heart fuel the fragrence of the strongest kind of love — sacrificial love, my mother and father were the first to show me this love that was showed to them by Christ Jesus. My mother leaving her Master’s Degree to come to America for my education, my father leaving his joyful workplace and the culture he lived with his whole life in an effort to make sure that I would never live a day without water, to make sure I would never study in the dark. So I may have the chances they never had — of a priceless education and books without count. So I may have the ability through my education to serve other and live for Jesus. I now know the truth, flipping through old pages and spinning around the world, that my life will forever be a reflection of Jesus’s, no matter which way God will lead me to.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade