Fun fact: Did you know that October 21st is known as “Back to the Future Day”? This is because in the film “Back to the Future: Part II” Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) and Dr. Emmett Brown (the inventor of the famous DeLorean vehicle that makes time travel possible; played by Christopher Lloyd) travel from the year 1985 to the year 2015; specifically October 21, 2015. While I am not a big science fiction fan, I do enjoy a good story. I think one of the reasons this particular story resonates with me – and many, many others – is because it reinforces that a single decision can forever change the trajectory of a life. If time travel were a thing, wouldn’t we go back and fix it so that we undo that one choice we shouldn’t have made?
Ten years ago, it was the 30th
anniversary of the first “Back to the
Future” film. Furthermore, it was
very the day that Marty travelled to; October the 21st, 2015. The 2015 presented in the film and the real
2015 is interesting and you can find lots of content online, so I want to skip
all that today. Because I want to narrow
this down. I have in my possession the
journal that was given to me as a gift, to help me document my grief over
losing my dad unexpectedly back in 2015.
When October of 2015 rolled around, it had only been a few months since
Dad passed away. I even mentioned “Back
to the Future Day” in that blog entry, and how only God would’ve known what I
would be living that day. To sum it up,
I was in the middle of a crisis.
Flash forward to today, the
40th anniversary of the first “Back to
the Future” film, and a decade of life after 2015, that famous date in
October. Do you want to know the irony
that I never would have envisioned? Just
like 10 years ago, I am in the midst of a crisis. Obviously, I haven’t written a lot of blog
content in 2025. My last writing was six
weeks ago, back on 9/7. In 2021, I wrote 30 blogs, an all-time low for output, and it’s looking like I will be
breaking that record this year.
You say, “What’s been going
on?” I simply cannot get into it right
now. It’s too fresh and new. One day I hope to, but as I said, it is
sufficient to say that I am in another crisis; one of the hardest in my life, I
would say. In fact, just as I did back
in 2015, I would ask for prayer for myself and my family – if you are a praying
person. If you are a fan of the “Back to the Future” films, you know that
one of the expressions that Marty McFly would say in response to a situation,
to the confusion of Doc Brown, is “this is heavy”. Somebody may thinking that as you read today. I know this subject is heavy, but I’m being
just being honest and real with you.
The song “Fires” by Jordan St. Cyr has been a big blessing since its released
in 2022. Here’s a snippet that is like a
lifeline for me right now: “You’ve walked me through fires, pulled me from
flames, if You’re in this with me, I won’t be afraid. When the smoke billows higher, oh and higher,
and it feels like I can barely breath, I’ll walk through these fires, ‘cause
You’re walking with me.” Some may find
this preachy, but I don’t really care, I’m going to say it: the only thing that has sustained me during
all of this is my relationship with the Lord.
Let me conclude with this:
Jordan St. Cyr speaks of the story behind his song “Fires”; I have included the link here. He shares, “In November of 2018, my youngest
daughter, Emery was born with an incredibly rare and severe brain
condition. And while this journey has
not been easy, and we are left with so many questions than we have answers, we
know more than ever that God is with us, and He always will be. He has made us stronger, and He has grown our
faith in ways that we never thought was possible. He’s taken the hardest parts of our story to
refine our hearts and draw us closer to Him.”
God bless,
Kevin
