Many of us live in the past. Some long for and celebrate what was. Some long for and dismay at what is missed. Two for instances…
At 73 I can look back and think about what was. I used to ride 20-30 miles a day and think nothing of it. If I did a 20-30 mile day now, it would take me several-maybe a week- to recover. 🙂 I think back to my college years when I accumulated quite a bit of hardware from my basketball days. I never displayed them and about 20 years later they found themselves in a dumpster. I became the father of 2 beautiful young ladies who still pop buttons on my shirt. 🙂 In 2007 I became the pastor of the fantastic church family I am still pastoring. Three years ago I celebrated the 50th year of being married to a fantastic woman.Â
The other extreme is the person tied to the past-good or bad times- and longing for what was. Grief is often the result. Dismayed by what is missed or missing.Â
In that vein, I read the following quote by Pastor John Piper that struck gold this morning:
Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have. (Watching for the Morning-Risner-p.217)
Some things are part of our past-good and bad. We can’t change it. Nor can we bring it back. I sensed God saying this to me this morning: “Heed Pastor John’s word, Bill. Wash your face then move on. You have so much to live for these days! Celebrate them. Rejoice in them! Go with me. Be strong and courageous.”Â
What is He telling you these days?
I so needed your encouraging words here today, Bill. When we have so many years behind us, it’s difficult not to look back and wish we had done some things differently, but God doesn’t want us to take up residence there. Been there – done that! Let us celebrate each day God gives us going forward and be grateful for the present and His presence.
Blessings!
Thanks for the encouraging words Martha. Glad I was able to give you some as well. You are right though about taking up residence there. Nope.
I have a lot of fond memories of the past. Growing up Catholic, my biggest regret is resting on so many of the wrong beliefs, and not reading the Bible. I rested on traditions, and going to church was something I always did, but not something I took to heart. I think God’s message to me these days, is to finish strong. To walk with God, to trust His words, and learn to navigate to God’s path and not to create my own path. Ask God for verification of His directions. God will provide those verifications through the Bible, and in His ways, so I need to be alert, and pay attention.
I’m glad you can look at your past and not only see what went wrong but learn from it so you can now say, “What goes right.” God will help you finish str0ng Gail.
We all have our “if only”s, our moments we wish we could have a do over, but like Dick says, if we were to go back in time to fix something we would probably mess up something else. I think God gives us lessons from our past we can use to help others but He doesn’t expect us to wallow in “what might have been”.
He is the God of “a future and a hope”, even for those of us over 70!
I totally agree with your wise husband, Pam. 🙂 And yes, God does give a future and a hope, even for those of us over 70.