While painful memories may instantly bring us back to our childhood, we don't have to live there. Those who choose to dwell in the past--and make no mistake about it, it is a choice--forgo fresh, exciting episodes of life for tired and tedious reruns. Author Eugene O-Neill describes the lives of those who can't get past their past: “There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now.” This is clearly not how our Heavenly Father wants His kids to live.
When I click the GUIDE button on my TV remote, it lists the shows that are currently on and the ones scheduled to come on after. It will not allow me to go back and view the names of programs that have already aired. If it did, I wonder how many of us, instead of enjoying shows that are presently on or excitedly awaiting programs that will be coming on, would scroll backwards and lament all we missed out on.
It is difficult to move forward if we are continually looking backward. Life is an adventure meant to be enjoyed. Jesus once said that He came into the world so that God's children "may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10, NIV)." We cannot experience the fullness of life if we are firmly anchored in the past.
To live a fulfilling life we must visit the past only long enough to find reconciliation. Once we've made peace with our past--with others, with God, and with ourselves--it is time to move on.
Fulfillment is found when we walk daily with God. We live life to the full when we experience His presence in our present. And knowing that He is Father who loves us and truly wants what is best for us, we can then look to the future with irrepressible hope and expectation.
When I click the GUIDE button on my TV remote, it lists the shows that are currently on and the ones scheduled to come on after. It will not allow me to go back and view the names of programs that have already aired. If it did, I wonder how many of us, instead of enjoying shows that are presently on or excitedly awaiting programs that will be coming on, would scroll backwards and lament all we missed out on.
It is difficult to move forward if we are continually looking backward. Life is an adventure meant to be enjoyed. Jesus once said that He came into the world so that God's children "may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10, NIV)." We cannot experience the fullness of life if we are firmly anchored in the past.
To live a fulfilling life we must visit the past only long enough to find reconciliation. Once we've made peace with our past--with others, with God, and with ourselves--it is time to move on.
Fulfillment is found when we walk daily with God. We live life to the full when we experience His presence in our present. And knowing that He is Father who loves us and truly wants what is best for us, we can then look to the future with irrepressible hope and expectation.
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