ARE YOU LOOKING BACKWARD OR FORWARD?

I have so many opportunities for regret over my past and over the choices I’ve made over the years, but I have learned to try not to dwell on the past. Where have the years gone? Past mistakes, missed opportunities, lost money, lost time, lost relationships, people who have hurt me, people I’ve hurt ..

An example is my feelings about my ex-husband and his then wife, and everything they did to me. I think if I held onto the bad things done to me by my ex-husband and his then wife, I would certainly not have the wonderful relationships I have with their children today. I love their boys, and my relationship with them has grown over the years. I hope to always have a part in their lives. I would have missed that if I stayed in the past about what their father and mother did to me.

We can spend all our energy regretting the past, living in the past, holding onto anger for the past. Sometimes it’s easier to stay in the past; the future is unknown and can be scary.

God has used my mistakes to my benefit in amazing ways, the most profound being my daughter. After six years of marriage to Neal, I suggested we get a puppy. My husband’s answer was puppy or baby! I wasn’t sure which would be better, but I decided to go for the baby! A year passed and my beautiful daughter was born. Six months later my husband and I separated. There was no reason for my marriage to Neal, except my beloved daughter. I am eternally grateful and will always thank God for Neal, without whom there would be no Kristi.

It’s good to look to the past for instruction, to see how we can do things better in the future. If we also search our past to see how God has worked in our lives, we may gain confidence to see how He can work in the future.

Romans 8:28 : “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

But if we stay in the past, we can miss today and miss making plans or goals for the future.

Phil 3:12-13: “Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

How can you look to your past for instruction so you can make positive changes in your life?

Can you see how God has worked in your life and how that can give you confidence that He can work in your life in the future?

Have you thought about goals, both practical and fun, to set for yourself?

As you work on rebuilding your life, what would you like your life to look like?

How can you change from dwelling on the past, both good and bad, to straining toward what is ahead, toward a heavenly goal?