What's Stopping You?

No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead

Philippians 3:13 

 

 

I've been looking at some photos of my family from the time my Dad was a toddler.  Whilst waxing nostalgic for a bit, my mind began to wander to some of the events in my own past that still bothered me more than a little.  Yes, I know, "the past cannot be changed."  I've heard, and said, that more times than I can count....so apparently, I don't listen to myself or others.  Or perhaps I do, and then, during times of stress my mind responds by exhuming what I thought had been buried long ago.

 

The more I pondered (being that I like to think about things), a few reached 4 conclusions:

    1.   The past has happened.

                  It may have been painful.

                  It may have been distressing.

                  It may have been humiliating.

                  It may have been horrible.

                  It may have even been terrifying.

 

   2.  The past is no more.

                  The memories may haunt you.

                  The scars may scare you.

                  The lessons may be painful.

                  But the past is not the present.

 

   3.  The past helped shape you.

                   The bad parts act like sandpaper.

                   The good parts act like polish.

 

   4.  If you could change any aspect of your past, what would it be?  

                   This is a trick question: if you change any piece of your past, you would not be who you are now, nor who you will become.

 

Look at the photo....did the bicycle stop the tree from growing?  

 

"Every saint has a past every sinner has a future."

"And That's The Way It Was..."

Don’t ask, “Why was life better in the ‘good old days’?”
    It is not wise to ask such questions.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 

 

George Bernard Shaw is credited with saying, "If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."  Let's face it, every family has skeletons.  Every person in every family has things in their past that they would like to forget, from bad decisions to idiotic actions to embarrassing moments, we all have a past. We've discussed this issue before, but it bears repeating because, quite frankly, the past just keeps popping up and distracting us.  

 

I've heard the "good old days" stories and, I know this will come as quite the shocker, have told a few myself.  Yes, I grew up where we played outside as often as possible.  Yes, I grew up riding my bicycle to the store where I traded glass pop bottles for candy.  Yes, I grew up when bubble gum was only a penny.  Yes, I grew up when we couldn't wait for the Sears Wish Book to arrive (and it weighed several pounds). Yes, I did some really idiotic things and made some REALLY bad decisions.

 

But here's the thing to remember (from our last chat on this topic): everything in your past has helped to shape who you are NOW!  And everything that is happening to you NOW is going to shape who will BECOME! 

 

1.  Learn from the past.  It's a great teacher if you pay attention.

2. Don't dwell in the past.  You can't plow a straight line looking over your shoulder.