Panning for gold

Modern gold rush

Apparently people are panning for gold once again in the American west. Books like the one above are popular. The 49ers of 159 years ago created a brief and wild era as people from all walks of life tried to make their fortunes by panning for gold.

A few became wealthy; most were disappointed and resumed their lives wiser, if poorer, for their efforts.

Most folks regard the past with mixed feelings. Unhappy events make a greater impression than happy times and have a way, if given free rein, of monopolizing memory.

Bad, distressing, or unhappy past events should not be given free rein. For nearly everyone there is also good in the past, and it’s important to identify that good – because good is timeless.

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote, “All of good the past has had remains to make our own time glad. . . God’s love and blessing then and there, are now and here and everywhere.”

It’s a bit like panning for gold. As I understand it, you stand in or next to a shallow river and put a scoop of water, sand, and gravel into your sieve. The water washes away any muck, and in the remaining sediment miners hope to find some bright flecks of gold. It is relatively easy to remove the gold, and toss away the sediment.

So when we have occasion to pan our memories in the river of life, let’s be alert for those small bright flecks of goodness. Gently remove them, place them carefully where they won’t get lost, and throw out the sediment of unhappiness.

This doesn’t mean ignoring evil, or not coming to terms with abuse. It does mean that in spite of difficult times, goodness in some form was present and needs to be identified and celebrated in the present.

I remember reading an emotionally difficult autobiography of a man badly abused by a mentally ill mother. As a little boy he barely escaped her attempts to kill him. Finally a teacher at school recognized the signs of physical abuse and rescued the child – decades before teachers were taught how to look for abuse in their classrooms.

That teacher was a gold nugget in this boy’s tragic childhood.

The youngster overcame the effects of terrible cruelty and, as an adult, helps other children recover from abusive situations.

Every fleck of goodness adds to the substance of good in our lives. They help us live in and appreciate the “now” of God’s love.