Past Tense part 4
The past is history. The future is a mystery. All we really have is right now. And that's why it's called the present; it's a gift. So instead of robbing ourselves of the gift we've been given--by letting the past hold us back OR by worrying about the future--what we ought to do is enjoy what we've got. Enjoy who we are. Enjoy where we are. Enjoy the ride. I'm convinced that life has it's own plan for us. I KNOW Father God has HIS own plan for us. And what we think it's "supposed" to be very rarely lines up with what it ends up being. So if we aren't open to it... we'll miss it. We'll bang our heads against the wall trying to get one thing and end up with something else: a headache. I think what I'm trying to say is your past played a part in shaping you, but it doesn't define you. Unless you let it. Unless you stay stuck in it. Or unless you won't let go of it. I think I'm lucky in a sense because it's really hard for me to remember my life before Logan was born. So I'm not trying to recreate anything, or continue anything that came before. I can let things be what they are instead of trying to force them to be something they're not. I can let go of the past. It happened. But it's only those who refuse to learn from the past that are doomed to repeat it. It's only a mistake if you keep making it. Otherwise it's a learning experience. You get knocked down... and you learn how to get back up. "They" say God gave us mountains so we could learn how to climb, but I say God brought the valleys high and the mountains low so that we could walk in faith on a straight and narrow path that leads to life. Don't look back-- you're not going that way. Upward and God-ward. Following the Spirit as He leads and guides us into all truth. The ultimate truth of the universe that says, "The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands." The ultimate truth of the universe that says, "Daddy loves you. He always has and He always will." So don't let anything hold you back from being who you are. From receiving and releasing that love. From loving each other as Jesus loves us. That's why we're here. That's what the Creator created us. God is love, and we are His expression of love. He loves us, and He loves through us, and He loves as us. He fills us to overflowing with His love so that it comes out of us naturally. So that HE comes out of us naturally. So that we can be ourselves--our true selves, Jesus, God in the flesh, love in a body--instead of trying to be someone we're not. Instead of letting anything or anybody else define us. What you've done in your life isn't who you really are. It's who you THOUGHT you really were when you were stumbling around in the darkness. But then the light switch was turned on. The light of the world began to shine in your heart. To shine OUT of your heart. And then you could see who you really are, by seeing who God really is. By knowing and believing His love for you, and sharing it with those you come into contact with. I know it's hard to touch the fire once you've been burned. But the truth is, GOD is the consuming fire. And He doesn't burn us, He consumes us. He burns away everything else. He burns away the past so that it can't make you tense. It can't torment you. It happened. It's over. So get over it. Learn from it and move on. Upward... and God-ward.