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In a recent post, we talked about not looking back. Some might get the idea that means to try to block out the past as if it never happened.
We cannot do that. Whatever happened in the past really happened. Good or bad, whatever happened changed us. It was part of the process of how we became who we are today.
How should we view our past?
Realistically. It is the past. It does not exist now. It will never come again. That was then. This is now.
You are not the same person now you were then. You are older and hopefully, wiser. You now know things you did not know then.
This thought alone should allow us to give ourselves a little more grace for what is happening with us right now. We are still learning. One day we will look back at what we are learning now.
God is not finished with His Creation of us. We are a work in progress. And that means we can change. We do not have to be the person we once were. Nor should we want to be. We were designed to grow.
That is true for everyone. So we should not freeze anyone into who they were in the past. Saying, “You’ll never change” makes it more difficult for anyone to change.
Thank God for the best of who you and everyone else was. Know those qualities were only seeds for what God is growing now. Expect the best.
When we look back, we do not need to replay all the negatives. But sometimes after there is some distance from the Adrenalin surges of past catastrophes, we can look back and see how God delivered us and provided for us.
It is never too late to count the many blessings of life.
When we look back and see nothing there, but God, we will know we are on the right road. Gratitude leads to trust for now and the future.
What should we remember when we look back?
Remember your Creator.
Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember the whole way that The Lord your God has led you.
Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember the wondrous works that He has done!
1 Chronicles 16:12
