It’s the close of another year. I have decked the halls, trimmed the tree,
shopped and wrapped and caroled and partied hardily. I have baked the cookies,
greeted the neighbors, watched the obligatory sappy Christmas movies and
suddenly realized I have inadvertently made it successfully through another 365
days. Somehow, it is the new year yet again. This time of year always prompts personal
reflection. It’s a time to look at where
you have been, where you are, and where you intend to go.
I have learned many things in the last year. I learned it doesn’t get any easier for one
of the boys to leave for college. Number
three was just as painful as the others.
I learned to be careful when painting the bathroom lilac, especially when
you have a small white puppy running around.
I learned that a small white mouse can make it unseen from the bonus
room upstairs all the way down to the deck out back in one piece. I learned not to take two semesters that
overlap by two weeks thereby causing a near nervous breakdown. I learned I am not my grades and, while
painful, my first “B” did not actually kill me.
I learned I do not like walls that are painted orange (don’t ask!). I learned I have amazingly creative friends
who will make epic movies all about jumping into cold water or having it poured
over their head. I learned to be careful
when backing out of the garage just in case J parked his Camaro in a different
place than usual so it lines up perfectly with the corner of my back
bumper. I learned roller skating becomes
more difficult as you get older and I learned that I am getting older. I learned some truths, some hard, some
beautiful, but all necessary, for they all played a part in the mark this year
has left on me. I learned it is freeing
to stand up and tell your story, even when it is inconvenient to others. I learned I am weaker than I realized and I
learned I am stronger than I knew.
Thankfully, over the past 365, I have learned.
I have been seeing a lot of facebook posts recently about
looking forward and moving forward and things becoming new and I applaud those
posts and that sentiment. It is
important to not allow events of the past to define you or to hold you in
bondage so you are not able to move into the future God has for you to
enjoy. I will always support living in
freedom from the past, whether that past was good or bad. However, dear readers, you knew I couldn’t
simply leave it at that, didn’t you?
Just like everything else in life, it is important to
remember to have balance. It is
important to not allow events of the past year or years to define us. At the
same time, it would be foolish to completely turn our backs on the lessons we
have learned through those same events. I recently heard someone call the scars from the past as simply marks of wisdom found. I like the idea of that. Just
like most everyone else, I have had my share of difficult times, unfair, unjust
attacks, hard seasons in life and just plain old times that were simply no
fun. Our goal should be, not to forget
they ever happened, but to learn something from them while not allowing them to
hold sway over us. God wastes nothing,
not even the hard times we go through. If
we are willing, He will teach us something through each and every circumstance in
our lives. So if we are willing, our
pain can become our platform from which to minister. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says “blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God” (NKJV). It is when we
experience the comfort of God that we are able to extend that same comfort to
those around us who are hurting. We
cannot do that if we distance ourselves from our past to the point that we no
longer identify with who we were then. It
is important that we not turn our back on where God has brought us from to the
extent that we can no longer draw from it when ministering to others. And make no mistake, whether in the pulpit,
behind a register, flipping burgers, selling cars, or working in a typing pool,
we are all ministering. The Bible calls
us a city on a hill and we all know such a city cannot be hidden. Look around you and you will discover
opportunities to reach a lost and dying world.
As we carry the light of Christ into the darkness, we impact the world
around us whether we realize it or not.
Our past experiences are the frame that highlights the
picture of grace God desires to show the world.
So go forth, my friends, into the new year with the joy and
excitement that comes from walking with the Lord. But don’t forget the things that have had a
part in making you who you are. Draw
from those past experiences to meet those around you exactly where they
are. Do not despise the platform that
Lord has given you. Don’t remain in
bondage to your past, but don’t deny it either.
It is the springboard from which you will soar!
Until next time, I’ll be here bathing puppies, chasing mice
and picking out paint colors.
Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor
