Sunday, May 22, 2011

it's all in the past...or the future?

We are a country that loves to celebrate our past.  We celebrate EVERYTHING.  We don’t let anything be forgotten.   I used to work for a bank.  Trust me, I know how many holidays there are.
There is Martin Luther King Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.  And those are just the Federal holidays.  That doesn’t include religious holidays and other U.S. holidays like Flag Day, Patriot Day, Constitution Day and all those other holidays (don’t forget boxing day).
Our country loves history so much that there are people who actually reenact Civil War Battles.  I know, I want to see one of these too, but I have yet to hear about one in Oklahoma. 
So then why are we encouraged to forget our past? 
Pain?  Fear?  Guilt?  Regret?
These can all be reasons to try and forget the past, but I feel that God encourages us to embrace our past.  They certainly did back in the days before Christ.  Jewish history was common knowledge for the most part in those days.  Everyone knew the story of the creation, the exodus, David and Goliath. 
Without the past of the Old Testament, there could not have been a New Testament.  If the Jews did not know what the past had said about the coming Messiah, the disciples would have missed the whole thing.  It was in the history and what was said by the prophets that brought them clear understanding after his resurrection.
Maybe our past is nothing more than trials for a bigger event that is coming for us. 
I am 29 years old and single.  I have never been married.  Been engaged once, but that was for 2 months and she was not the right woman for me. As of now, I don’t have a serious relationship in sight and honestly, I am really not worried about it.  My past has taught me to be strong.  There have been numerous nights in the past 2 years that I stayed awake worrying and depressed that I would never find anyone.
This can be rough when all your friends have already gotten married and your little brother is actually getting married before you.  However, I know God has someone picked out for me and that every relationship I have been through is just preparing me for that person. 
If you think about every person you have been in a relationship with, do you really think that you would want to be with them now after everything you know about them?
I know that the person I was with when I was 18 is not who I would want to be with today.  The person who I was with when I was 21 is not the person I would want to be with today either.  The person I was with when I was 27… yea, I would have liked to see where that would have gone. 

Regardless, I know what I am looking for in a woman now because every failed relationship is leading me toward the successful relationship. 
I look at my parents failed marriage and it makes me value marriage even more.  Therefor I am not just jumping in to a commitment with the first person I feel secure with (almost did that). 
The past is not a just a bunch of failures and success’, but lessons and trials by God. 

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