I had three big messes in my home, my office, my hunting closet, and my garage. All were littered with useless items scattered to and fro and nothing was in its place. Recently all three were transformed. Beginning with my office, and then my hunting closet, and finally my garage; all were organized and things thrown away and others put in their proper places. The garage was the worst and my employees took truckloads of stuff to the dump.
I have no earthly idea why I kept all of that rubbish. I couldn’t even park my cars in the garage because it was so full of worthless litter. Does that make sense? I leave expensive cars that cost thousands of dollars out in the weather in order to have a place to store $100 worth of useless stuff that I’ll never use?
I’m so happy to have gotten rid of it and know that I’ll never have to even look at it again.
I was talking to someone the other day that was obsessed with the past. This lady had been molested and abused as a child and it deeply affected her. For a while she led a crazy lifestyle and did all sorts of things of which she is deeply ashamed, but then she found the Lord, got married, had some kids, got involved with an awesome ministry and her life was transformed and is now filled with mostly positive things. Like all Christians she still has ups and downs in life, but now she has the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help her traverse the difficult times, but most days are good.
So one would think she is all set and can pretty much breeze through the remainder of this life and look forward with great anticipation to heaven where the real enjoyment will kick in and last throughout eternity.
Alas that is not the case; instead she wants to live in the past where she relives her ugly childhood at every opportunity. I told her she has elected to live in a dump. I advised her to take all of that garbage to a landfill and leave it there.
She did not concur and prefers to snivel and whine and chant “Poor little ol’ me” over and again as she enjoys her little pity party sitting in the midst of all of the garbage of her unhappy childhood. She wants to analyze every detail over and over again ad nauseum. She goes to psychologists, psychiatrists and shrinks of every description; she has visited hypnotists, and even went to a fortune teller. I asked her if a witch doctor was next . . . Com’on!
I mean what does she think they can tell her. Yes your childhood was bad, and yes your lousy parents were lousy, that neighbor that molested you was a lowdown pervert, that abusive spouse that smacked you in the mouth was a cowardly bully with anger problems. You are not at fault because they are idiots.
Yes all that stuff happening to you messed you up for a while as it would mess up anyone. Well that was then and this is now. After going into prisons and rehab centers for years and years I can guarantee there are plenty of people with similar stories and many that are far worse. Get over it, it’s not happening now.
My childhood wasn’t stellar, but I try not to dwell on it. It reminds me of driving a car. There is a very small rear view mirror located in a huge front windshield. I like to look through the windshield to see where I’m going; when I look in the rear view mirror and see where I’ve been I don’t like what I see. I don’t want to live in the past; I want to look to the future.
When I look in the rear view mirror I’m backing up. No one wants to drive in reverse any more than they absolutely have to. It’s a pain in the rear to go in reverse. All of us are relieved to move the gear shift from reverse to forward gear. Life should be the same.
So all of you shrinks out there will likely bombard me with letters telling me how healthy it is to voice our dark secrets and not carry them around anymore and I shouldn’t advise people to bury all that stuff, but to get it all out. Yadda yadda yadda
Bah! Keep your eyes on Jesus and look to the future. The Apostle Paul said it best.
Phil. 3:13
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus . . .
April 29, 2014 – Click here to listen