What If?
In a commercial, Michael Jordan thinks about the question, "What if?" I know it's not good to dwell on the past, but who doesn't think this? I do it so much. Our past experiences have shaped us to be who we are today. But what if they were different, what if we could change them? Then life would be perfect right? Of course, it's easy to see the mistake after we make it. A wise man once told me that hindsight is always 20/20. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
It's tough for me when I look back on my past. There's so much that I don't like about it. I can easily laugh at how dumb and immature I used to be. But I'm disgusted by it. There are so many things I would I could change or just never happened. But what good would that be?
It's easy to recognize flaws. Negatives often overshadow positives. But in reality, what I've been blessed with far outweighs the crap in my life and I'm sure this is true for most, if not all, of us. After all, I have Jesus, the greatest gift! We spend too much time focusing on what we could have instead of appreciating what we do have. I watched a movie last night called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and it made me realize how much we need our memories, whether good or bad. Yes, there are things that we wish we could change. But if we did, we wouldn't be who we are today! Rick Warren said, "We are a product of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it." There's always going to be junk in our lives. "It's called the past 'cause I'm getting past, and I ain't nothing like I was before." Alicia Keys said it. It's all a lesson learned. What matters is how we respond to it. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" - Isaiah 43:18-19
It's tough for me when I look back on my past. There's so much that I don't like about it. I can easily laugh at how dumb and immature I used to be. But I'm disgusted by it. There are so many things I would I could change or just never happened. But what good would that be?
It's easy to recognize flaws. Negatives often overshadow positives. But in reality, what I've been blessed with far outweighs the crap in my life and I'm sure this is true for most, if not all, of us. After all, I have Jesus, the greatest gift! We spend too much time focusing on what we could have instead of appreciating what we do have. I watched a movie last night called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and it made me realize how much we need our memories, whether good or bad. Yes, there are things that we wish we could change. But if we did, we wouldn't be who we are today! Rick Warren said, "We are a product of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it." There's always going to be junk in our lives. "It's called the past 'cause I'm getting past, and I ain't nothing like I was before." Alicia Keys said it. It's all a lesson learned. What matters is how we respond to it. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" - Isaiah 43:18-19
Comments