Minute Musings...Stuck In Time

There are days when I wish time would just stand still.  Sometimes it's because you are
enjoying where you are, or it might be that you're scared of the future.  Perhaps events
of the past are so rooted in your memory that it is just to hard to let it go and face the
future.  Whatever the reason, we all have times when we wish we could just put time on
pause.  Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my husbands passing, and I found myself
all day drawn back to the past, the good and the bad.  Memories in of themselves are not
hurtful, but to get stuck in the past is.  You see, we are meant to live life in the forward
position, not the pause or reverse.  Life moves on.

Philippians 3:1& 14  "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:  but this
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

Can we forget those things which are behind?  No, God created us with memories!  So
what is the Apostle Paul saying here?  He's saying, don't get stuck in time, don't get so
bogged down with the things of the past that you forget what your goal is...and that is
to be all that you can be for our Lord Jesus Christ.  All of us have things in our past that
can act like quicksand.  Before we know what is happening we are sinking into memories
that will produce bitterness, anger, jealousy, depression, or revenge.  This is why you
must be so careful when it comes to looking behind you.  I read one quote recently that
said, "You can't move forward if you're always looking backwards."  God doesn't want
us stuck in the past, reliving painful memories that will just knock us off the tract of
service for Him.

I am not saying to ignore the lessons learned from our past.  We go through things to
help us grow, and we can help others by lessons learned from our past experiences.
But don't get stuck there.  Keep looking forward.  God has many blessings in store
for those who live for Him.  He has many avenues of service for those that give them-
selves to His ministry.  Our stories are still being written, we need to "reach forth
unto those things which are before,"  this is the place of new growth, untold blessings.
Don't shortchange yourself by looking back!

Philippians 4:8  "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report:  if there be any virtue, and
if there be any praise, think on these things."