- You know, I
don't know how many times
00:00:01.16\00:00:02.43
I've heard somebody
say, "Man, if I'd only known
00:00:02.43\00:00:04.33
"it was gonna be like
this, I never would've started.
00:00:04.33\00:00:07.04
"If I'd only known that
maintaining a marriage would
00:00:07.04\00:00:10.14
prove "to be this
hard," or "If I'd only known
00:00:10.14\00:00:12.57
"that raising kids would
be this much of a challenge.
00:00:12.57\00:00:15.11
"If I'd only known that getting
older would hurt this much,
00:00:15.11\00:00:18.41
"I don't know if I
ever would've started."
00:00:18.41\00:00:21.28
That is the voice of regret.
00:00:21.28\00:00:23.85
And it happens because
what you don't really understand
00:00:23.85\00:00:26.65
when you're at the
starting line of your life is
00:00:26.65\00:00:30.09
that there's no way to
predict what the journey ahead
00:00:30.09\00:00:33.09
is actually gonna look like.
00:00:33.09\00:00:34.56
And you have no idea when you're
gonna cross the finish line
00:00:34.56\00:00:37.77
or what you're gonna
look like when you get there.
00:00:37.77\00:00:41.30
Today on "Authentic,"
learning how to live your life
00:00:41.30\00:00:44.44
with no regrets.
00:00:44.44\00:00:46.34
[dramatic music]
00:00:46.34\00:00:49.04
Take a few minutes off
from your life with me today
00:01:07.50\00:01:09.30
and let's go back and
just visit your childhood.
00:01:09.30\00:01:12.40
If you happen to
be from my generation
00:01:12.40\00:01:14.44
or even a
little older than that,
00:01:14.44\00:01:16.10
you've seen a lot of change
in a very short space of time.
00:01:16.10\00:01:20.64
I actually grew up in a world
00:01:20.64\00:01:21.91
where I walked to
school unattended,
00:01:21.91\00:01:23.68
if you can imagine that.
00:01:23.68\00:01:25.08
And the technology
they had for my education,
00:01:25.08\00:01:27.28
it was a mimeograph machine
and a filmstrip projector.
00:01:27.28\00:01:31.59
In fact, I can still
hear the rhythmic sound
00:01:31.59\00:01:34.62
of test papers being
reproduced on a Gestetner
00:01:34.62\00:01:37.19
in the teacher's lounge.
00:01:37.19\00:01:39.09
This is the technology
that connected my generation
00:01:39.09\00:01:42.06
to the 19th century.
00:01:42.06\00:01:44.83
And if they dropped the
copies on your desk soon enough,
00:01:44.83\00:01:47.57
man, you could still
smell the copying fluid.
00:01:47.57\00:01:50.07
I still think that's
one of the nicest smells
00:01:50.07\00:01:52.61
in the whole world.
00:01:52.61\00:01:54.38
The teachers all
had dirty white smudges
00:01:54.38\00:01:56.54
on their pants
pockets, because, well,
00:01:56.54\00:01:58.58
they were still
using chalkboards,
00:01:58.58\00:02:00.52
another primitive technology.
00:02:00.52\00:02:02.45
And that chalk dust
would get all over their hands,
00:02:02.45\00:02:05.12
and so it would get
all over their clothes.
00:02:05.12\00:02:07.32
And there was always
some poor kid outside
00:02:07.32\00:02:10.36
after school standing
in a cloud of chalk dust,
00:02:10.36\00:02:13.13
because it was his job
to clap the brushes together
00:02:13.13\00:02:16.10
to make them clean
again for tomorrow.
00:02:16.10\00:02:18.87
Maybe some of you remember
being sent up to the board
00:02:18.87\00:02:20.90
to demonstrate a math
problem for the whole class,
00:02:20.90\00:02:24.44
and you had to dig around
in all those little chalk nubs
00:02:24.44\00:02:27.31
sitting in the aluminum tray.
00:02:27.31\00:02:29.44
And I don't know if
this ever happened to you,
00:02:29.44\00:02:31.38
but sometimes I would actually
get a shiver down my spine
00:02:31.38\00:02:34.38
as I pulled one of
those dry, tiny stubs
00:02:34.38\00:02:36.58
across a dry green board, and
it would chatter for a second,
00:02:36.58\00:02:41.59
or even, ugh,
make a squeaking sound.
00:02:42.79\00:02:44.59
Back then, when you
wanted to make a phone call,
00:02:46.43\00:02:48.93
you had to use
this clunky machine
00:02:48.93\00:02:50.47
you rented from
the phone company.
00:02:50.47\00:02:53.13
And it either sat
on the kitchen counter
00:02:53.13\00:02:54.87
or it was mounted to the wall.
00:02:54.87\00:02:57.21
And if you wanted any privacy,
00:02:57.21\00:02:59.07
you had to install a
40-foot coiled-up cord
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that always got
tangled and kinked,
00:03:02.44\00:03:04.58
so that you could
walk to the next room
00:03:04.58\00:03:06.85
in order that nobody else
could hear your conversation.
00:03:06.85\00:03:10.45
If you were making
a long distance call,
00:03:10.45\00:03:12.35
especially to another country,
00:03:12.35\00:03:13.96
well, you had to
wait until 11 p.m.,
00:03:13.96\00:03:16.22
because that's when the
rates would suddenly drop,
00:03:16.22\00:03:19.06
and you wouldn't break the
bank by talking to somebody
00:03:19.06\00:03:21.60
for 10 or 15 minutes.
00:03:21.60\00:03:23.77
In fact, back then, we
still had family living
00:03:23.77\00:03:26.94
in the old country in Europe.
00:03:26.94\00:03:28.44
And they still used
telegrams when I was a kid
00:03:28.44\00:03:31.94
to send the occasional message,
00:03:31.94\00:03:33.48
because it was
cheaper than using the phone.
00:03:33.48\00:03:37.68
And I don't even know
if telegrams still exist.
00:03:37.68\00:03:40.78
Now, I'm sure when I was a kid,
00:03:40.78\00:03:43.25
cable TV must have existed
in a few large urban places.
00:03:43.25\00:03:47.29
I don't know, but I
know we sure didn't have it,
00:03:47.29\00:03:49.99
not in my little town.
00:03:49.99\00:03:51.49
We had black and white
TVs with rabbit ear antennas
00:03:51.49\00:03:55.86
that sometimes had
foil wrapped around them
00:03:55.86\00:03:58.50
or if one of them got broken
00:03:58.50\00:04:00.34
and had a coat
hanger jammed in the end.
00:04:00.34\00:04:02.84
Rich people had 20-inch TVs.
00:04:02.84\00:04:06.27
Lots of people had much
smaller screens than that
00:04:06.27\00:04:08.98
like 13 inches.
00:04:08.98\00:04:10.48
And the TV
stations, we only had two,
00:04:10.48\00:04:14.78
and they would play the
national anthem at midnight
00:04:14.78\00:04:17.09
and then they would
actually shut off until morning,
00:04:17.09\00:04:20.22
putting up color
bars for the whole night.
00:04:20.22\00:04:23.69
Of course, we also had radio,
00:04:23.69\00:04:25.76
which was kind of like
our version of the internet
00:04:25.76\00:04:28.30
back in the day, I guess.
00:04:28.30\00:04:29.90
Back where I lived, we
got two, maybe three stations
00:04:29.90\00:04:33.30
on the AM dial,
except in the winter,
00:04:33.30\00:04:37.17
when
occasionally we'd suddenly get
00:04:37.17\00:04:39.04
these long-distance
signals bouncing in the town
00:04:39.04\00:04:41.61
for just a few hours.
00:04:41.61\00:04:43.01
And as a kid, I had this
little red transistor AM radio.
00:04:43.01\00:04:47.08
And I'd crawl into bed and
scan the dial for something new,
00:04:47.08\00:04:50.02
something from some
other part of the world
00:04:50.02\00:04:51.69
I could listen to.
00:04:51.69\00:04:52.99
And because I wasn't
supposed to be listening
00:04:52.99\00:04:55.76
to the radio after
bedtime, well, I would cheat.
00:04:55.76\00:04:58.89
I would use a little
twisted mono earpiece,
00:04:58.89\00:05:01.26
no stereo, a mono
earpiece that you could plug
00:05:01.26\00:05:04.23
into the back of the radio.
00:05:04.23\00:05:05.57
And I'd crawl
under the blankets,
00:05:05.57\00:05:07.07
and I would listen privately.
00:05:07.07\00:05:09.14
My generation, we
had no air conditioning,
00:05:09.14\00:05:12.47
not in the house, and
certainly not in the car.
00:05:12.47\00:05:15.18
So, in the summertime
my brothers and I would sit
00:05:15.18\00:05:17.71
in the
suffocating heat at the back
00:05:17.71\00:05:20.38
of my parents' van
slowly baking to death
00:05:20.38\00:05:23.82
until the day my dad
actually put a vent in the roof
00:05:23.82\00:05:26.76
so we could get a
little bit of air.
00:05:26.76\00:05:28.92
And while we're
talking about cars,
00:05:28.92\00:05:31.03
most of us, believe this or not,
00:05:31.03\00:05:33.16
most of us
never wore seat belts.
00:05:33.16\00:05:37.40
My brothers and I
actually sat on a foam mattress
00:05:37.40\00:05:39.83
my dad put in
the back of the van.
00:05:39.83\00:05:41.64
And at one point, my
parents even strapped
00:05:41.64\00:05:43.81
a playpen to the
floor of a VW van,
00:05:43.81\00:05:47.01
so my youngest brother could
ride around town in a playpen.
00:05:47.01\00:05:51.35
And I know what some of
you are probably thinking,
00:05:51.35\00:05:52.95
"Man, that sounds
like child abuse."
00:05:52.95\00:05:55.95
Way back then,
nobody thought that way,
00:05:55.95\00:05:57.79
because we were all doing it.
00:05:57.79\00:06:00.09
And frankly, our childhood,
00:06:00.09\00:06:01.52
it wasn't the
Nerf-padded childhood
00:06:01.52\00:06:03.86
that some kids have
to suffer through today.
00:06:03.86\00:06:06.93
We just kind of
assumed back then
00:06:06.93\00:06:08.50
that bumps and
bruises and broken bones
00:06:08.50\00:06:10.53
were part of a normal childhood,
00:06:10.53\00:06:13.10
part of the way that you
learn about the real world
00:06:13.10\00:06:15.97
and its physical limitations
00:06:15.97\00:06:17.41
before the price of making
mistakes begins to get too high
00:06:17.41\00:06:21.21
and it ruins your
life in adulthood.
00:06:21.21\00:06:24.58
When we were kids,
we played dangerously.
00:06:24.58\00:06:27.52
We played with pocket knives
00:06:27.52\00:06:29.22
and with
homemade bows and arrows,
00:06:29.22\00:06:30.85
and with BB guns
and even with fire,
00:06:30.85\00:06:33.39
and nobody batted an eyelash.
00:06:33.39\00:06:35.69
Now, I mean, yeah,
okay, sometimes kids got hurt,
00:06:35.69\00:06:38.69
I won't deny that it happened,
00:06:38.69\00:06:40.13
but in other ways, I
think it helped us grow up
00:06:40.13\00:06:42.90
just a little bit faster,
00:06:42.90\00:06:44.53
and it gave us an understanding
00:06:44.53\00:06:45.90
that choices really do
come with consequences.
00:06:45.90\00:06:50.91
And somewhere out
there, back in the 1970s,
00:06:52.87\00:06:55.64
my future spouse, my
bride was just a little girl
00:06:55.64\00:06:59.01
playing with her friends,
00:06:59.01\00:07:00.35
learning the
same kinds of lessons,
00:07:00.35\00:07:02.08
and I had no idea who she was.
00:07:02.08\00:07:05.72
I knew that some day
I'd probably get married,
00:07:05.72\00:07:07.82
because most people do,
00:07:07.82\00:07:09.39
but I had no
idea who my wife was,
00:07:09.39\00:07:12.36
where she was,
what she was like,
00:07:12.36\00:07:15.10
or how the
unexpected plot twists of life
00:07:15.10\00:07:18.57
would eventually land me
on her parents' doorstep.
00:07:18.57\00:07:23.34
I mean, how in the
without could you possibly know,
00:07:23.34\00:07:25.81
as you walk through a
door for the very first time,
00:07:25.81\00:07:29.14
that you are minutes away
from actually meeting your wife?
00:07:29.14\00:07:33.62
What if I'd
refuse the invitation
00:07:33.62\00:07:35.48
to visit that house
on that particular day?
00:07:35.48\00:07:39.49
Who in the world would I
have married in that case?
00:07:39.49\00:07:41.82
And how would that
have changed my entire life?
00:07:41.82\00:07:45.89
Now look, I've gotta tell you,
00:07:47.10\00:07:48.46
and if you've lived
some, you know this,
00:07:48.46\00:07:50.77
there is no way you
can predict your life
00:07:50.77\00:07:53.17
from the beginning.
00:07:53.17\00:07:54.70
And even though
I've probably blown
00:07:54.70\00:07:56.67
through 2/3 of my
life already at least,
00:07:56.67\00:07:59.74
I'm starting to understand
00:07:59.74\00:08:01.48
that there's no way I
can predict the rest of it.
00:08:01.48\00:08:05.41
I might, you might
think you have a plan,
00:08:05.41\00:08:08.28
but I can promise
you, you don't, not really.
00:08:08.28\00:08:12.42
Now that doesn't mean
you shouldn't make plans,
00:08:12.42\00:08:15.16
it doesn't mean that you
shouldn't pick a college major
00:08:15.16\00:08:17.89
or plan for your career or
start saving for retirement,
00:08:17.89\00:08:21.50
because you don't wanna get
to the latter part of your life
00:08:21.50\00:08:24.80
without a plan either,
after all, the wise man
00:08:24.80\00:08:27.64
who wrote the Book
of Proverbs warned us
00:08:27.64\00:08:29.97
to be diligent in
Proverbs chapter six.
00:08:29.97\00:08:32.84
Listen to this, "Go
to the ant, you sluggard!
00:08:32.84\00:08:36.41
"Consider her ways and be
wise, which having no captain,
00:08:36.41\00:08:39.91
"overseer, or ruler, provides
her supplies in the summer,
00:08:39.91\00:08:44.12
"and gathers her
food in the harvest.
00:08:44.12\00:08:46.15
"How long will you
slumber, O sluggard?
00:08:46.15\00:08:49.39
"When will you
rise from your sleep?
00:08:49.39\00:08:51.23
"A little sleep,
a little slumber,
00:08:51.23\00:08:53.66
"a little folding
of the hands to sleep,
00:08:53.66\00:08:56.63
"so shall your poverty
come on you like a prowler,
00:08:56.63\00:08:59.93
"and your need
like an armed man."
00:08:59.93\00:09:03.00
So yeah, you need to make plans.
00:09:03.00\00:09:06.88
That's not really
what I'm getting at.
00:09:06.88\00:09:08.58
What I'm saying is
that you really don't have
00:09:08.58\00:09:11.98
a detailed roadmap of
where you're going to go.
00:09:11.98\00:09:15.18
And life has this
way of reminding you,
00:09:15.18\00:09:17.69
that you are not really
in charge of your destiny,
00:09:17.69\00:09:20.86
not the way that
you hope you are.
00:09:20.86\00:09:22.89
Now honestly, that's
probably a good thing,
00:09:22.89\00:09:25.06
because the rewards you
get from living this life
00:09:25.06\00:09:27.96
might not be any
particular destination.
00:09:27.96\00:09:30.67
The reward might
be the actual joy
00:09:30.67\00:09:33.13
of just living it.
00:09:33.13\00:09:36.30
So, stick around, I'm
gonna come right back,
00:09:36.30\00:09:38.84
and we're gonna
explore your childhood
00:09:38.84\00:09:40.38
just a little bit more,
and I think you're gonna find
00:09:40.38\00:09:42.28
this pretty interesting.
00:09:42.28\00:09:44.21
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:09:45.71\00:09:48.58
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers.
00:09:48.58\00:09:51.99
But that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:09:51.99\00:09:54.06
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:09:54.06\00:09:56.86
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:09:56.86\00:09:59.03
we've created the
Discover Bible Guides
00:09:59.03\00:10:01.16
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:10:01.16\00:10:02.76
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:10:02.76\00:10:05.27
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:10:05.27\00:10:08.27
And they're absolutely free.
00:10:08.27\00:10:10.31
So jump online
now or give us a call
00:10:10.31\00:10:12.61
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:10:12.61\00:10:14.84
- You know, looking back
from where I sit right now,
00:10:16.24\00:10:18.35
it turns out
that my present life,
00:10:18.35\00:10:20.58
my existence is
nothing like I thought
00:10:20.58\00:10:22.95
it was going to
be when I was a kid.
00:10:22.95\00:10:25.42
Growing up in a
remote Canadian town,
00:10:25.42\00:10:28.09
actually I don't think we
could qualify it as a city,
00:10:28.09\00:10:30.99
we were too small, I
had no idea back then
00:10:30.99\00:10:34.36
I'd be sitting
here today right now
00:10:34.36\00:10:36.06
talking to you from
the state of Colorado.
00:10:36.06\00:10:39.23
I think I always knew somehow,
00:10:39.23\00:10:41.30
one day I'd be an American.
00:10:41.30\00:10:42.70
I don't know how I
knew that, but I did.
00:10:42.70\00:10:45.07
It was just no
way for me to predict
00:10:45.07\00:10:47.51
the path I was going to take.
00:10:47.51\00:10:48.91
How was that going to happen?
00:10:48.91\00:10:51.31
So, no, the future was
nothing like I expected.
00:10:51.31\00:10:56.25
I was born in the early
years of space exploration,
00:10:56.25\00:10:59.02
making my
entrance into the world
00:10:59.02\00:11:01.12
about the same time
that Neil Armstrong left
00:11:01.12\00:11:04.06
a footprint on the moon.
00:11:04.06\00:11:05.99
I remember actually saving
the front page of the newspaper
00:11:05.99\00:11:09.03
back in 1981 when the first
space shuttle was launched.
00:11:09.03\00:11:13.64
And now that program has already
come and gone, it's done.
00:11:13.64\00:11:18.04
Long before that, I collected
all these books as a kid
00:11:18.04\00:11:21.38
about space exploration.
00:11:21.38\00:11:23.78
I still have them
somewhere down in the basement,
00:11:23.78\00:11:25.75
I tried to find
them for the show today,
00:11:25.75\00:11:27.28
so I could show you.
00:11:27.28\00:11:28.55
I kept all them,
because it seemed obvious to me
00:11:28.55\00:11:31.49
when I was a boy
that we were perched
00:11:31.49\00:11:33.49
on the edge of
a bright, new era,
00:11:33.49\00:11:35.72
where the sky, literally,
was no longer the limit.
00:11:35.72\00:11:39.59
Somewhere that
stuff is still there.
00:11:39.59\00:11:41.13
I wish I could find it all.
00:11:41.13\00:11:42.20
I have a postage stamp from 1969
00:11:42.20\00:11:45.10
that celebrates
the moon landing.
00:11:45.10\00:11:47.20
I actually have a medallion
they gave the employees
00:11:47.20\00:11:49.70
at Cape Canaveral, the day
that the moon landing happened.
00:11:49.70\00:11:53.27
I have all sorts of
things I saved as a boy,
00:11:53.27\00:11:56.88
because they promised me,
00:11:56.88\00:11:58.81
well, they
promised me the Jetsons.
00:11:58.81\00:12:01.48
But then when I grew up, the
space program ground to a halt.
00:12:01.48\00:12:06.49
We haven't even
been back to the moon,
00:12:07.66\00:12:08.59
in at least half a lifetime.
00:12:08.59\00:12:10.59
There's no colony on Mars.
00:12:10.59\00:12:12.49
We don't even have
a viable flying car,
00:12:12.49\00:12:15.20
even though I was promised
all that stuff when I was a kid.
00:12:15.20\00:12:19.10
Now, on the other hand, I
do have a phone in my pocket
00:12:19.10\00:12:23.57
that can outperform a computer
00:12:23.57\00:12:25.51
that used to occupy
like half a small building
00:12:25.51\00:12:28.98
back the year I was born.
00:12:28.98\00:12:30.95
The crew of the
original Star Trek series had
00:12:30.95\00:12:33.21
these big bulky
communicators, if you remember,
00:12:33.21\00:12:35.98
that didn't even
have video screens.
00:12:35.98\00:12:38.99
Now, I don't know
if you remember this,
00:12:38.99\00:12:40.46
but the Starship
Enterprise actually had
00:12:40.46\00:12:43.09
cathode ray tubes for screens.
00:12:43.09\00:12:45.89
They didn't even
anticipate LCD monitors.
00:12:45.89\00:12:50.27
But now I have a
device that fits in my pocket.
00:12:50.27\00:12:53.44
It lets me go to a
virtual video meeting
00:12:53.44\00:12:56.10
on the other side of the planet
00:12:56.10\00:12:57.77
in real time instantaneously,
00:12:57.77\00:12:59.71
even if I happen to be standing
00:12:59.71\00:13:01.78
in an empty field
miles from my house.
00:13:01.78\00:13:05.95
So it turns out, it's a
funny thing, the future.
00:13:05.95\00:13:09.88
There's just no way you can
predict what's going to happen.
00:13:09.88\00:13:13.02
And you can go running to
the psychics all you want,
00:13:13.02\00:13:15.92
but none of them can
see the future either.
00:13:15.92\00:13:18.83
In all of human history,
there has only ever been
00:13:18.83\00:13:22.86
one credible claim from someone
00:13:22.86\00:13:25.07
who says he can see the future.
00:13:25.07\00:13:27.50
And he can back that claim up
00:13:27.50\00:13:29.47
with a 2,600-year track record
00:13:29.47\00:13:33.07
of never missing a
single prediction, not even one.
00:13:33.07\00:13:38.08
Now here's what
this individual says.
00:13:39.21\00:13:40.72
It's in Isaiah chapter
46 starting in verse nine.
00:13:40.72\00:13:44.72
"Remember the
former things of old,
00:13:44.72\00:13:47.66
"for I am God,
and there is no other.
00:13:47.66\00:13:50.09
"I am God and
there is none like me,
00:13:50.09\00:13:53.29
"declaring the end
from the beginning,
00:13:53.29\00:13:56.03
"and from ancient times,
things that are not yet done,
00:13:56.03\00:13:59.60
"saying, 'My
counsel shall stand,
00:13:59.60\00:14:01.70
"'and I will do
all my pleasure.'"
00:14:01.70\00:14:05.74
So on the one
hand, you have God,
00:14:05.74\00:14:08.78
who never misses a beat,
he never ever gets it wrong.
00:14:08.78\00:14:13.62
He says he can see the
future in absolute detail.
00:14:13.62\00:14:17.85
And then you
have someone like me,
00:14:17.85\00:14:19.89
and I got almost everything
wrong about my future.
00:14:19.89\00:14:22.22
I mean, this life now,
00:14:22.22\00:14:23.86
that is not what I
was expecting as a kid.
00:14:23.86\00:14:27.13
Now, I thought
I was gonna be one
00:14:27.13\00:14:28.33
of the Dukes of
Hazzard growing up.
00:14:28.33\00:14:29.80
Honestly, I thought that's
where adulthood would take me.
00:14:29.80\00:14:32.23
I would be
defying the local sheriff
00:14:32.23\00:14:33.97
in a hopped-up Dodge Charger.
00:14:33.97\00:14:36.20
Now the truth is I've
already owned a minivan,
00:14:36.20\00:14:39.94
and I owned it
before I even had kids.
00:14:39.94\00:14:42.91
Now, what did
happen is I managed to get
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.45
kind of hairy like all
the tough guys were on TV
00:14:45.45\00:14:47.98
back in the 1970s, but turns out
00:14:47.98\00:14:50.95
I'm a day late and a
dollar short on that one,
00:14:50.95\00:14:53.36
because by the time I erupted
00:14:53.36\00:14:55.46
in all my matted,
hairy, masculine glory,
00:14:55.46\00:14:59.19
that movement was over and
hairy guys weren't cool anymore.
00:14:59.19\00:15:03.73
Now it turns out
you don't wanna look
00:15:03.73\00:15:05.47
like Burt Reynolds anymore.
00:15:05.47\00:15:07.47
Then to make matters worse, I
discovered hair starts growing
00:15:07.47\00:15:12.14
in places you
really don't want it.
00:15:12.14\00:15:14.64
And nothing, I'm telling
you, nothing, young guys,
00:15:14.64\00:15:17.98
prepares you for
the humbling moment
00:15:17.98\00:15:19.65
when you're on
the operating table,
00:15:19.65\00:15:22.32
and one of the nurses
goes running for the clippers,
00:15:22.32\00:15:24.62
because she's seen what
is growing on your back.
00:15:24.62\00:15:28.22
Nothing can get you
ready for the moment
00:15:28.22\00:15:30.59
they shear you like a sheep,
because you're that hairy.
00:15:30.59\00:15:35.10
Now I find myself plucking
hairs out of my earlobes
00:15:35.10\00:15:38.00
and I've joined that
long line of aging men
00:15:38.00\00:15:40.74
who have had to
visit their nostrils
00:15:40.74\00:15:42.94
with those tiny,
little nose scissors.
00:15:42.94\00:15:46.34
Look, I'm telling
you, it's almost impossible
00:15:47.54\00:15:50.21
to predict your life in detail.
00:15:50.21\00:15:52.58
And from where I sit right now,
00:15:52.58\00:15:54.42
almost nothing has turned
out the way I thought it would.
00:15:54.42\00:15:57.99
I have lived at 24
different street addresses
00:15:57.99\00:16:01.79
in just over half a century.
00:16:01.79\00:16:04.29
I have worked on
every continent except one,
00:16:04.29\00:16:07.30
and that's Antarctica.
00:16:07.30\00:16:09.26
I'm an immigrant,
like my father was.
00:16:09.26\00:16:11.60
I'm a citizen of a
county now I wasn't born in to.
00:16:11.60\00:16:14.80
And there was no way I
could've predicted any of this.
00:16:14.80\00:16:19.77
So I've gotta
say, there is no way
00:16:19.77\00:16:23.48
that you can predict what
being a parent is gonna be like.
00:16:23.48\00:16:27.08
I mean, you think you know,
00:16:27.08\00:16:28.88
because you were once a
child with parents yourself,
00:16:28.88\00:16:31.12
but you have no idea,
listen to me, young people.
00:16:31.12\00:16:34.36
There was no
predicting from the outset
00:16:34.36\00:16:37.29
that my kids would think of a
foreign country as their home,
00:16:37.29\00:16:40.66
or that my childhood,
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.56
which feels like it
happened yesterday to me,
00:16:42.56\00:16:45.17
well, it was gonna
be as remote and ancient
00:16:45.17\00:16:47.07
to my kids as
World War II was for me.
00:16:47.07\00:16:51.24
I mean, think about this.
00:16:51.24\00:16:52.44
I was born just 24
years after World War II,
00:16:52.44\00:16:55.81
but it might as
well be 2,400 years,
00:16:55.81\00:16:58.05
because it was a
world I didn't know.
00:16:58.05\00:17:00.95
And I can only see
it through the stories
00:17:00.95\00:17:02.88
my parents and
grandparents told,
00:17:02.88\00:17:04.82
and through a bunch of
black and white film footage.
00:17:04.82\00:17:08.16
Now that's how remote my
childhood looks to my kids.
00:17:08.16\00:17:12.03
The '70s are the '40s to them.
00:17:12.03\00:17:14.20
And the '40s are as far back
as the turn of last century,
00:17:14.20\00:17:17.13
as far as my kids are concerned.
00:17:17.13\00:17:20.14
And it boggled their
mind when they were little,
00:17:20.14\00:17:22.37
when I told my kids, "I
actually knew people born
00:17:22.37\00:17:24.91
"in the 1800s."
00:17:24.91\00:17:27.61
And then they find out
my own grandfather was born
00:17:27.61\00:17:29.54
more than a century ago.
00:17:29.54\00:17:32.88
Here's the way I think about it.
00:17:32.88\00:17:34.75
All of us are sitting on
this cosmic conveyor belt
00:17:34.75\00:17:38.12
that takes you from
childhood to adulthood
00:17:38.12\00:17:40.52
to middle age to old age,
00:17:40.52\00:17:42.49
and then it kind of
drops you off in the grave.
00:17:42.49\00:17:45.53
And we're all on
that conveyor belt.
00:17:45.53\00:17:47.36
That's the part you can predict.
00:17:47.36\00:17:50.03
But what's not predictable
is how you're gonna feel,
00:17:50.03\00:17:53.54
and how each of
those different stages
00:17:53.54\00:17:55.84
is going to present
itself in your life.
00:17:55.84\00:17:59.57
So, for example,
there's no way to predict
00:17:59.57\00:18:02.88
how suddenly your
body is going to refuse
00:18:02.88\00:18:05.21
to cooperate with you one day.
00:18:05.21\00:18:07.58
You might now it up here, you
might know it intellectually,
00:18:07.58\00:18:10.49
I mean we all
intellectually know
00:18:10.49\00:18:12.09
that we're gonna break down,
00:18:12.09\00:18:13.32
we're all gonna get old
00:18:13.32\00:18:14.52
and eventually your
body just quits on you.
00:18:14.52\00:18:17.59
But you won't know what
it's like until it happens.
00:18:17.59\00:18:20.96
And you hit this stage of life
00:18:20.96\00:18:22.63
where maybe your aches and pains
00:18:22.63\00:18:24.53
are gonna get better, maybe not.
00:18:24.53\00:18:27.80
You know, something's
gonna happen eventually, right?
00:18:27.80\00:18:30.24
We all know it, some
kind of health crisis,
00:18:30.24\00:18:32.47
but what in the world is
it gonna be that gets you?
00:18:32.47\00:18:35.21
Kidney disease, cancer, stroke,
00:18:35.21\00:18:38.41
heart attack, dementia?
00:18:38.41\00:18:39.88
You have no idea.
00:18:39.88\00:18:43.18
Now I'm aware there
are these tests now,
00:18:43.18\00:18:45.62
where they can
tell you genetically
00:18:45.62\00:18:46.99
what's likely to get you.
00:18:46.99\00:18:49.49
But I gotta say, I've
never wanted to do one of those,
00:18:49.49\00:18:51.79
because I don't
really wanna know.
00:18:51.79\00:18:54.30
I don't want this sword of
Damocles hanging over my head
00:18:54.30\00:18:58.20
ready to drop any day.
00:18:58.20\00:18:59.60
I'd rather just be
surprised when whatever it is
00:18:59.60\00:19:02.57
that's gonna get
me actually happens.
00:19:02.57\00:19:05.97
Because it all is just
guesswork anyway, isn't it?
00:19:05.97\00:19:10.18
Now, don't go away,
because I've gotta take a break,
00:19:10.18\00:19:13.25
and I wanna pull all
this together in a way
00:19:13.25\00:19:14.92
that hopefully
makes a bit of sense
00:19:14.92\00:19:16.95
and show you, I'm not just being
a fatalist and a pessimist.
00:19:16.95\00:19:20.69
What I'm talking
about can be useful to you.
00:19:20.69\00:19:23.39
I'll be right back.
00:19:23.39\00:19:24.39
- [Narrator] Here at
the Voice of Prophecy,
00:19:25.76\00:19:27.50
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:19:27.50\00:19:30.00
for the whole family, like
our audio adventure series,
00:19:30.00\00:19:32.80
"Discovery Mountain."
00:19:32.80\00:19:34.57
"Discovery Mountain" is a
Bible-based program for kids
00:19:34.57\00:19:37.37
of all ages and backgrounds.
00:19:37.37\00:19:39.04
Your family will enjoy
the faith-building stories
00:19:39.04\00:19:41.68
from this small
mountain summer camp and town
00:19:41.68\00:19:45.08
with 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:19:45.08\00:19:47.12
and fresh content every week.
00:19:47.12\00:19:49.78
There's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:19:49.78\00:19:52.92
- Now if you've
been listening to me
00:19:55.92\00:19:57.59
for the last few
minutes, you might be thinking,
00:19:57.59\00:19:59.26
"Man, what a
pessimistic fatalist."
00:19:59.26\00:20:01.16
But honestly I'm not.
00:20:01.16\00:20:02.86
I'm just reminiscing on
how often I've been wrong
00:20:02.86\00:20:06.13
and how utterly
incapable I seem to be
00:20:06.13\00:20:08.37
of predicting the
course of my life.
00:20:08.37\00:20:10.97
Maybe you've
done a little better.
00:20:10.97\00:20:12.64
Maybe your life has been
a carefully written script
00:20:12.64\00:20:15.24
and you knew all your
lines from the very beginning.
00:20:15.24\00:20:17.91
But I'm guessing
that's probably not true.
00:20:17.91\00:20:20.58
Your 10-year-old self
couldn't have never predicted
00:20:20.58\00:20:23.65
the way you are right
now, I mean not really.
00:20:23.65\00:20:25.95
And maybe that's one of
the reasons the Bible tells us
00:20:25.95\00:20:28.96
to do two different things.
00:20:28.96\00:20:30.73
On the one hand it says
to work hard and make plans
00:20:30.73\00:20:33.36
and chart a
course for the future.
00:20:33.36\00:20:35.46
But on the other hand,
it warns you to be ready
00:20:35.46\00:20:37.30
for all your plans to fall
apart without a moment's notice,
00:20:37.30\00:20:40.00
because as it turns out, you're
just not in charge of much.
00:20:40.00\00:20:44.04
Listen to what it
says in James chapter four.
00:20:44.04\00:20:46.68
"Come now, you who say,
'Today or tomorrow we will go
00:20:46.68\00:20:49.34
"'to such and such a
city, spend a year there,
00:20:49.34\00:20:51.48
"'buy and sell,
and make a profit.'
00:20:51.48\00:20:53.45
"Whereas you do not know
what will happen tomorrow.
00:20:53.45\00:20:56.58
"For what is your life?
00:20:56.58\00:20:58.12
"It is even a vapor that
appears for a little time
00:20:58.12\00:21:00.42
"and then vanishes away.
00:21:00.42\00:21:02.12
"Instead you ought to
say, 'If the Lord wills,
00:21:02.12\00:21:05.03
"'we shall live
and do this or that.'"
00:21:05.03\00:21:07.86
Then you have these
words from Jesus, Matthew six,
00:21:07.86\00:21:11.13
"Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow,
00:21:11.13\00:21:13.20
"for tomorrow will
worry about its own things.
00:21:13.20\00:21:15.20
"Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble."
00:21:15.20\00:21:18.94
So here's the
problem that emerges
00:21:18.94\00:21:21.34
when you choose to believe
00:21:21.34\00:21:22.58
that you're actually
in charge of your future,
00:21:22.58\00:21:24.38
that you can plan everything
out to the last detail.
00:21:24.38\00:21:26.95
When it doesn't
go the way you hoped,
00:21:26.95\00:21:29.28
and I promise, it
won't, the anxiety that comes
00:21:29.28\00:21:32.32
from losing
control can be crippling.
00:21:32.32\00:21:34.42
You lie awake at night wondering
00:21:34.42\00:21:35.79
how you can salvage your plans
00:21:35.79\00:21:37.36
and push everything back
to where it's supposed to be.
00:21:37.36\00:21:40.76
But a lot of the time
you're gonna find yourself
00:21:40.76\00:21:42.90
incapable of fixing this.
00:21:42.90\00:21:45.27
You might have planned a
long and happy retirement
00:21:45.27\00:21:47.74
with your spouse,
but then one of you dies.
00:21:47.74\00:21:50.61
You might have planned
to live in a certain way
00:21:50.61\00:21:52.24
in a certain place, but
then the door suddenly closes
00:21:52.24\00:21:54.98
and you see it's
never gonna happen.
00:21:54.98\00:21:57.05
You might have dreamed of
seeing your name in lights
00:21:57.05\00:21:58.91
or making the New
York Times Best Seller list
00:21:58.91\00:22:01.08
or playing an instrument
to thousands in Carnegie Hall
00:22:01.08\00:22:04.05
and then comes that horrible day
00:22:04.05\00:22:05.95
when you realize none
of it's going to happen,
00:22:05.95\00:22:08.86
no matter how much you want it,
00:22:08.86\00:22:10.19
because things happen
that you can't control.
00:22:10.19\00:22:14.60
And what you stand to
lose at that moment is
00:22:15.96\00:22:18.57
probably the most valuable gift
00:22:18.57\00:22:20.07
that this life can
hand you: peace of mind.
00:22:20.07\00:22:24.51
Again, I'm not saying
you shouldn't make plans
00:22:24.51\00:22:26.41
or have goals, because
that would be a massive mistake.
00:22:26.41\00:22:29.71
I wanna be careful that we
come away from this discussion
00:22:29.71\00:22:33.11
not being hopelessly fatalistic.
00:22:33.11\00:22:35.28
I mean, you can make plans,
00:22:35.28\00:22:36.99
and you should
make valuable decisions.
00:22:36.99\00:22:40.06
And you know that old
age is probably coming,
00:22:40.06\00:22:42.79
and you should make plans for
it now, before you get there.
00:22:42.79\00:22:46.66
I guess what I'm
trying to say is this,
00:22:46.66\00:22:48.46
don't make a god of your plans,
00:22:48.46\00:22:51.20
because you'll have nothing left
00:22:51.20\00:22:53.17
if things don't
go the way you hoped.
00:22:53.17\00:22:55.97
You know, one of the big things
you can't possibly predict
00:22:55.97\00:22:58.77
when you're a kid is
that astonishing moment
00:22:58.77\00:23:01.41
when you realize
your parents were right,
00:23:01.41\00:23:04.11
they actually knew what
they were talking about.
00:23:04.11\00:23:06.48
And there was no way for
you to understand that as a kid,
00:23:06.48\00:23:08.95
because, well, you
hadn't walked down the path
00:23:08.95\00:23:11.39
of adulthood or parenthood yet.
00:23:11.39\00:23:13.09
But now that you're
older, you can look back
00:23:13.09\00:23:15.32
and see things
from their perspective,
00:23:15.32\00:23:17.16
and you suddenly discover,
man, they were completely right.
00:23:17.16\00:23:21.06
So that makes me
wonder about the things
00:23:21.06\00:23:23.37
that God tries to teach me.
00:23:23.37\00:23:25.57
There are moments
when I don't like it,
00:23:25.57\00:23:27.07
moments when what God says
00:23:27.07\00:23:28.50
completely rubs
my fur the wrong way.
00:23:28.50\00:23:30.57
Man, that's not the
way I think about it, God,
00:23:30.57\00:23:32.41
what in the world
are you doing to me?
00:23:32.41\00:23:34.58
But you know what, I
suspect if I was suddenly given
00:23:34.58\00:23:37.25
a glimpse from
God's side of the story,
00:23:37.25\00:23:39.05
from the perspective of somebody
00:23:39.05\00:23:40.35
who always knows the
end from the beginning,
00:23:40.35\00:23:43.25
well then, I suspect I
would suddenly realize,
00:23:43.25\00:23:46.62
man, God is right.
00:23:46.62\00:23:50.16
I mean, maybe
that's one of the reasons
00:23:50.16\00:23:52.19
that so much of
this ancient book
00:23:52.19\00:23:54.73
is a series of
prophecies and predictions.
00:23:54.73\00:23:57.50
I mean, when Jesus predicted
his own death by crucifixion,
00:23:57.50\00:24:00.44
he told his disciples,
"I tell you before it comes,
00:24:00.44\00:24:03.64
"that when it does come to pass,
00:24:03.64\00:24:05.31
"you may believe that I am he."
00:24:05.31\00:24:08.21
They, the disciples,
didn't know the future.
00:24:08.21\00:24:10.71
There was no way they could.
00:24:10.71\00:24:12.08
But when the future arrived,
00:24:12.08\00:24:14.02
they could suddenly
see that God did know it.
00:24:14.02\00:24:17.85
So imagine planning life
00:24:17.85\00:24:19.35
with somebody like
this in your corner,
00:24:19.35\00:24:21.92
and discovering that he's
always right every single time.
00:24:21.92\00:24:25.03
It does mean
swallowing your pride,
00:24:25.03\00:24:26.73
but let's admit it,
life kind of has a way
00:24:26.73\00:24:28.93
of breaking down
your pride anyway.
00:24:28.93\00:24:31.20
So what would it mean to
stop worrying about your plans
00:24:31.20\00:24:34.64
and waiting to see
what God has in mind?
00:24:34.64\00:24:37.21
"'For I know the plans I have
for you,' declares the Lord,
00:24:37.21\00:24:40.84
"'plans for
welfare and not for evil,
00:24:40.84\00:24:42.84
"'to give you a
future and a hope.'"
00:24:42.84\00:24:45.95
Don't go away,
I'll be right back.
00:24:45.95\00:24:48.75
- [Narrator] Are you
searching for answers
00:24:50.75\00:24:52.52
to life's toughest questions,
00:24:52.52\00:24:54.16
like where is
God when we suffer?
00:24:54.16\00:24:56.42
Can I find real happiness?
00:24:56.42\00:24:58.23
Or is there any hope
for our chaotic world?
00:24:58.23\00:25:00.73
The Discover Bible Guides
will help you find the answers
00:25:00.73\00:25:03.06
you're looking for.
00:25:03.06\00:25:05.17
Visit us at BibleStudies.com,
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.70
or give us a
call at 888-456-7933
00:25:07.70\00:25:12.27
for your free
Discover Bible Guides.
00:25:13.34\00:25:15.58
Study online on
our secure website,
00:25:15.58\00:25:18.68
or have the free guides
mailed right to your home.
00:25:18.68\00:25:21.22
There is never a
cost or obligation.
00:25:21.22\00:25:23.49
The Discover Bible
Guides are our free gift to you.
00:25:23.49\00:25:26.99
Find answers in guides like
00:25:26.99\00:25:28.39
"Does My Life
Really Matter to God?"
00:25:28.39\00:25:30.69
And "A Second Chance at Life."
00:25:30.69\00:25:32.83
You'll find answers to the
things that matter most to you
00:25:32.83\00:25:34.76
in each of the 26
Discover Bible Guides.
00:25:34.76\00:25:37.80
Visit BibleStudies.com
and begin your journey today
00:25:37.80\00:25:41.90
to discover answers to
life's deepest questions.
00:25:41.90\00:25:45.74
- You know, I'm
really not that old yet,
00:25:50.58\00:25:51.91
I'm just a little over 50,
00:25:51.91\00:25:53.68
but then the
other day I was sorting
00:25:53.68\00:25:55.45
through these old photos
and organizing digital copies
00:25:55.45\00:25:58.75
of everything and
it suddenly struck me
00:25:58.75\00:26:01.06
how few things have played out
00:26:01.06\00:26:02.86
the way I thought they would.
00:26:02.86\00:26:04.79
There was just no way to predict
00:26:04.79\00:26:06.59
which moments
would be the sweetest,
00:26:06.59\00:26:08.50
which ones would hurt the most.
00:26:08.50\00:26:10.03
I mean, I heard older
guys talking about the bruises
00:26:10.03\00:26:13.00
and scars they all picked
up as they lived their lives,
00:26:13.00\00:26:15.37
but I had no
idea what they meant
00:26:15.37\00:26:17.24
until I got a
few scars of my own.
00:26:17.24\00:26:20.21
And you logically know
that loss is going to happen,
00:26:20.21\00:26:23.51
but you have no idea
what that means until it does.
00:26:23.51\00:26:26.72
You lose your
health, you lose your living,
00:26:26.72\00:26:28.75
you lose a person you love.
00:26:28.75\00:26:30.69
It's all just an intellectual
exercise until it happens,
00:26:30.69\00:26:33.46
and then you
suddenly realize why the poets
00:26:33.46\00:26:35.72
of every time and
every place have struggled
00:26:35.72\00:26:38.59
to put these things into words.
00:26:38.59\00:26:41.76
But here's the thing.
00:26:41.76\00:26:43.67
This life has actually given me
00:26:43.67\00:26:45.17
far more than I
thought it might.
00:26:45.17\00:26:47.04
Yeah, it's been
challenging and I've spent years
00:26:47.04\00:26:49.54
of my life clinging to
the wheel with white knuckles
00:26:49.54\00:26:51.87
and my teeth clenched.
00:26:51.87\00:26:53.38
And this has been every bit
as hard, every bit as painful
00:26:53.38\00:26:57.15
as previous
generations tried to warn us.
00:26:57.15\00:27:00.78
But you know at the same time,
00:27:00.78\00:27:02.58
life has actually
been merciful enough
00:27:02.58\00:27:05.05
not to give me
everything I asked for.
00:27:05.05\00:27:08.09
Now, I've discovered
that the real reward in life,
00:27:08.09\00:27:11.16
as I've said already, it's
not a particular destination.
00:27:11.16\00:27:14.40
The reward is
found in just living it
00:27:15.56\00:27:18.70
and discovering the only God
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.37
who really
understands what's going on.
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.87
So, if my life were to
come to an end right now,
00:27:22.87\00:27:25.27
if I died as I
walked out of studio,
00:27:25.27\00:27:27.48
I've gotta say, I couldn't
have asked for any more.
00:27:27.48\00:27:30.95
And if I do get
another 30, 40 years,
00:27:30.95\00:27:33.45
I can't wait to find out
what God wants to teach me next,
00:27:33.45\00:27:36.32
because here's
what I've discovered.
00:27:36.32\00:27:38.92
You take this as your guide.
00:27:38.92\00:27:41.32
You live this
way, take its advice,
00:27:41.32\00:27:43.63
you're gonna get
to the finish line,
00:27:43.63\00:27:45.73
and you'll find your
whole life has been authentic.
00:27:45.73\00:27:48.46
You've done it right.
00:27:48.46\00:27:50.07
Thanks for joining
me, I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:27:50.07\00:27:52.63
[dramatic music]
00:27:52.63\00:27:55.40