As humans we tend to hold onto the past whether it's a person, a mistake, or a memory that once was... When your past is filled with pain or heartache it can hold us back from our ability to move forward and adjust to the world that is always changing around us. I read in an article a good analogy that really stuck out to me. "A backpack filled with distressful memories that one tries to swim with, but it always seems to weigh you down, allowing you to merely breathe", its quite fitting. The article continued to say that we try to avoid detachment of the pain because it has been written into our past as if in stone. I thought about it, and i realized that nothing is written in stone. God provides a clean slate no matter how dark your past may be. What we really need to do is let go, and let God take control. Gods grace covers everything. Your past is why God hung on the cross, but if you're so caught up in your past how can you start living again, much less ever fully immerse yourself into the real calls and plans the Lord has for you. Jesus said he'd set the captives free, and many of the things that captivate us are past issues; God says that anyone who is trying to move forward but keeps looking back is not fit for his kingdom. You can either choose to stay bound up and continue looking back and encountering your past or you can allow God to unchain you, and use you for his glory. The choice is yours.
One thing I've realized personally is that once you're headed in the right direction God brings you back to the memories of the past, and the reason he will do that so you can learn from the mistakes. You can be more aware of the things you need to avoid, or things you need to value. You can see how God has had his hand on your life and where hes brought you from. God is forever working behind the scenes in our lives and we may not realize it, but Gods got a plan for everything... I'm sitting here just being reminded of how great our God is all over again; I've made a lot of mistakes, and to be frank i don't know where i would be if he had not died on the cross for my sins. He loves us. Don't forget how much. Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be a part of who you will become. A better person, better Christian, better husband/wife, a better parent.
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12)
"And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
