Don't Go Fishing!

Ironically, I had intended to make this a follow-up to my last post. But, as I look at the calendar, I realize it is exactly one month since I last posted. This usually happens...life slows down during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's holidays, I start writing again, and then life takes back off and suddenly I find myself neglecting any kind of personal writing.

But over the last few days I've found myself ruminating on the past. I recently had a major "anniversary milestone" with regards to the whole divorce process, and unfortunately I have to admit it took over my thoughts for a while.


It wasn't like I was purposely thinking about it. I would find myself just sitting there thinking about the whole thing, look at my watch and realize I had been sitting there for ten minutes thinking about the past.

One of my favorite verses in Isaiah says,

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19  

This is one of the verses that frequently came up when I was originally going through all this. It was always such a powerful reminder that even in the bleakness of the valley, God can do a might work and make a new thing out of the messes of life.

But a phrase I hadn't thought much on until now is the beginning of that verse..."Remember not the former things neither consider the things of old." In other words, stop dwelling on the past. You can't change it. No matter how long you sit and think about it, you will not change it.

Something I wrote about in my book is how the scars we accumulate from the trials of life tell a story. They will always be there as a reminder, though some may fade with time. So it stands to reason that we will probably never be able to fully put the past out of our minds.

But instead of dwelling on the pain of the past, maybe think about where you were, and where God has brought you. As a beautiful song by Point of Grace says it,

"Heal the wound but leave the scar, a reminder of how merciful You are."

So don't go fishing in the sea of the past.