“For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.”
~ Thomas A` Kempis
There is so much more to life than yesterday…
Yet we are always focused on our past. Whether it is our past relationships, past jobs, past accomplishments, or past mistakes– yesterday is always creeping up on our minds.
But why? Why are we so focused on something that is no longer? We can’t go back into the past. We don’t have time machines waiting for us at our disposal. There’s nothing we can do when the clock strikes midnight on any given day. That day is over, written down in history, never to be changed no matter how much we want it to so many times.
That’s my weakness… I get hung up on my past. I get so messed up in my past failures especially. I see so many people who are doing so well, have everything I ever wanted, and I’m stuck in the same old mess. It seems so unfair, I mean what did I do to deserve my plight?
So many times I ask God for some answers. I ask Him why things are going the way they are, and when things will look better. Because I get worn, weary, and worried about my future. I allow the world to dictate my happiness and what success looks like. I compare myself to others and when so many are doing better, then I get discouraged and want to crawl in a hole and disappear. I’m ashamed of what happens many times in my life…
Yet I am reminded that in life we all will struggle. There will come a time when even the most successful will fail, the most happy will experience sadness, and the most accomplished will experience loss. Life is so imperfect and it never goes the way we expect it to. If you told me my life would be the way it is now five years ago, I would have laughed… and been terrified!
We need to realize that the best things in life are not to be experienced here on earth. I know, depressing. It doesn’t mean that life on earth can’t be good, because it surely can… and it is with God dwelling in our lives. What it does mean is that we are not meant to be dwellers, but pilgrims. We are all on a journey!
Many say that life isn’t about the destination, but about the journey… that’s wrong. It’s about both! You can’t neglect one or the other. The journey is important because it prepares us for the destination. The destination is important because it’s what gives purpose to the journey. Without one, the other is meaningless.
So stop focusing on the past, stop focusing on all the tragedy, loss, and failure you have experienced. Life wasn’t meant to be lived in rewind, but in play. God has so much better in store for you than what you have now. He’s got a place for you in eternity with Him if you want it, and believe me you do! Just claim Him and His promises for your life… you will never gain better until you let go of the lesser!
The Archives of RyanMulkowsky.com 