Fight for what could be…

But what if I didn’t have to live in my past? What if there were something better, much, much better?

I pondered this question for some time. My past held me in chains, locked up with no hope of escape. To be completely honest, I still live enslaved to the past from time to time. This is not by conscious choice, but by not spending time with the One who paid my price and set me free. It seems to be a never-ending cycle. I need a key to lock away my painful past.

Dwelling on past mistakes does not magically change the outcome. Instead, it hinders the process of moving forward. Driving through the rearview mirror makes it impossible to see the special future God has for you.

Hit the snooze button one more time and wake up with barely enough time to shower. Sit in front of the television in the evening watching your favorite Netflix show and ignore the Holy Spirit’s whispered, “Come.”

You cannot change your past. You can learn from it. You can make peace with it. Then you can co-create your future.

Set your phone across the room out of reach of the snooze button. Put your Bible more conveniently in reach than your remote.

Whatever it takes to make spending time in the Bible a consistent part of your routine, do it. Rest assured there are multiple steps along this journey. It is different for everyone. The action steps may look different from person to person, but the end result is always the same – sweet, sweet time with the Savior.

Why is consistent time alone with God so important? Why do we strive for a better, deeper, stronger relationship with the Lord? To gain the necessary perspective to understand that God can take our painful pasts and turn them into glorious futures.

The chains that once held so tightly to my wrists lay now at my feet. There is no way to fully forget the past, but we can think about it differently. I will approach my former pain with gratitude. Not gratitude for the pain, but gratitude for the grace and mercy of God who delivered me from my shame and self-loathing. I will approach them with the Lord in front of me, guiding my every step as I learn to bask in his glory and trust in his name.

Let your messes, your stumbles, your learning curves, and everything else in your life lead you into the special future our Father in heaven had planned for you all along.