We all know that our past affects our future. Sometimes, our pasts include memories we cherish and other times, they include challenges we’d prefer to forget. Most of us have some of each, making us who we are, shaping our personalities and choices.

I was recently in McKenzie, Tennessee – a small town in the northwestern part of that state that holds some of my very favorite memories. This was where my grandparents lived, and I spent as much time as I possibly could up there. I lived in Florida, but came to Tennessee every summer, most spring breaks, and any other time I could convince my parents to let me go.

I have memories in every corner of that town – the park where my friends and I would feed the ducks, the church where I attended from nursery through youth group, the hospital where a doctor barely managed to sew my finger back on after I’d gotten it stuck in a bicycle chain.

But one of my favorite places was my grandparent’s house. And my favorite spot was their front porch. Because, for me, it wasn’t a front porch. It was a stage! I created stories on that front porch. I’d put folding chairs in the front yard, drag neighborhood friends over as my cast, then write, direct, and star in my shows. The flower garden was a jungle or a cave. The pillars were trees or monsters or fairies. The wrought iron table and chairs were thrones or mountains or dangerous enemies.

As I looked back at this porch, I saw that so much of who I would become was shaped there: My love for stories led to my choice of Literature as a major. My love of public speaking led to my career as a teacher. My “script writing” led to my writing novels. And directing my very kind but reluctant friends led to directing my sometimes-reluctant students in plays and musicals.

This porch is an important part of my origin story. God used that special place to develop the gifts He had given me, and He gave me wonderful grandparents and friends who encouraged those gifts. From that “stage”, I went on to many others. And though the others may have been larger, that first one still holds a special place in my heart.

You may still be in the “front porch” phase of your life. And maybe you can’t see where you’ll go from there. Maybe the folding chairs are empty. But don’t be discouraged. God has a plan! He is working in you and preparing you to accomplish His will in your life. Keep showing up. God is already there. He planned your origins and He knows your future.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11