December 5, 2020 Saturday)
The word, “nostalgia,” officially became an English word in 1770, and was defined as, “morbid longing to return to one’s home or native country, severe homesickness considered as a disease,”
A hundred years earlier, a scholar translated the Swiss word “heimweh,” which meant “homesickness,” with the term, “nostalgia” by piecing together two Greek words which essentially mean, “homesick.” During the Civil War, “nostalgia” was recognized as a serious medical problem in the military. Actually, years before in the 1830s the word, “nostalgia,” was used of any intense homesickness. During the Civil War, it was listed as a cause of death. Although the diagnosed cause of death may have been a physical wound, it was known that “nostalgia” was a strong contributing factor.
The main modern meaning of “nostalgia,” “wistful yearning for the past,” is recorded by 1920, perhaps from such use of “nostalgie” in French literature. The longing for a distant place also necessarily involves a separation in time.
OK, let’s get down to business about ourselves during this pandemic. The isolation and attendant economic fallout of businesses shutting down and people suddenly without income along with other stressful happenings have caused mental and emotional problems for many people who can’t help thinking of “the way things were.” Mental depression about the immediate past and the present can become so strong we seldom allow ourselves to concentrate on the helpful signs, such as vaccinations almost ready for distribution to the public. It’s hard to be optimistic when so many things are not going well within families across the nation. These stresses are ours on top of our own fears of being infected. With over a quarter million American deaths, we wonder if we will become one of those statistics soon. How can anyone avoid feeling some kind of impact of all this? And what we’ve mentioned does not include the social problems that have developed, which would dominate our thinking if all the other stresses were not present. Let us remember God’s firm word to us: “Fear not!”
“The Way We Were” is a wonderful old song we love to hear. In these days, however, thinking about “the way we were before 2020” generates feelings of nostalgia that can be harmful to our well being.
I cannot think of a scripture verse that can help us more than this one: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7 NIV).
Keep on reading the verses that follow. You know you want to: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-11 NIV).Nostalgia is about our yesterdays. We need to think about our tomorrows:
I don’t seem to understand,
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.”