Yesterday, to celebrate my daughter's 18th birthday, both my daughters and I went to a local spa for the afternoon. We began by taking a walk in the sweltering heat (this part was unplanned as we wrongly assumed we could use the workout facilities), but I still relished every moment of talking with my daughters. Then we enjoyed the steam room and sauna and, at the end, we each throughly loved every moment of a massage/treatment with some kind of "cherry blossom" cream that smelled like springtime perfection! We truly felt like we were in another world for a few hours, and, as one of my daughters laughed, "I think I just got a tiny little taste of what heaven will be like!"
Boy, I didn't realize how rejuvenating it could be to leave behind all the myriad chores and minutiae of your busy life, and simply luxuriate in the present and in the people you love. I forgot all about the little worries that had begun to choke the joy out of me--what do we do about turtle food for our next door neighbors' turtles (we are feeding their turtles while they are on vacation, and the turtle food is gone--mercy, how long can turtles go without food?)? Why can't I get all this clutter cleaned out? Where is the summer going and why is it going wherever it's going at such a rapid clip? What about classes next fall for my high schoolers? And what about college applications for my senior--O gracious!? Good grief, look at the yard--what is that growing in the front yard? How can I encourage my child to read (please note the use of the verb "encourage" versus "cajole," "nag," or "threaten at knifepoint.")? Why isn't the Lord healing my friend or my other friend's child? What can I do to help them? Why can't I be a better... fill in the blank (cook, mother, organizer, wife, thoughtful friend and on and on)? And then, of course, there's that endless to do list that just seems to grow longer every day.
For a few glorious hours, however, I forgot all about every single cotton picking worry. Just enjoyed my daughters and spent time laughing and talking and relaxing. Ahh, pampering can be pretty nice--I think I had forgotten! And you know what? That to-do list remained on my desk, waiting for my return--but it seemed a little less daunting. Those niggling anxieties and concerns didn't vanish, but they lost some of their punishing power to discourage and distress. Perspective returned, and peace permeated my heart and our home... at least for a few blessed hours.
Forgetting can do that to you. I recently heard Tony Evans talk about one of my favorite passages in the Bible: Phil.3:13-14 "... But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Evans declared that we need to have "bad memories and clear direction." Well, I sure have the first part of that equation down pat! I can't remember anything anymore!
But there's something wonderful--maybe the only good thing--about having a bad memory: you might forget stuff you want to remember (and that's the bad part) but you also forget the stuff you should and must forget. Sometimes we need to forget: forget past failures. Forget past grievances. Forget past slip-ups. Forget even past successes if they cause us to become prideful. Forget past sinful patterns or habits. Forget the past.
And press on.
Press on to maturity in Christ Jesus. Press on to knowing Jesus better tomorrow than today. Press on toward being the wife and mother you long to be. Press on toward licking that habit that brings you shame and sorrow. How do we get rid of our yesterdays if those yesterdays were filled with regrets or failures or sin? We press into Christ and press onto tomorrow. Sure, we learn from the past. We repent over the past. We grow from the past... but then we press on to the future goal of God's calling, God's dream for us. We press on as we walk with Him, loving Him, knowing Him, growing in Him and refusing to continue to dwell upon our past. Grieve that past, repent of that sin, learn from that failure... but then press on! Let it go. Christ has already forgiven it, so why are we still holding onto it? Why are we still wringing our hands over yesterday when Christ is in our present and in our tomorrow? Press on!
Maybe our remembering should be consciously and consistently focused upon thanksgiving rather than misgiving. Remember the past to be thankful... but not to be fretful. Once we've repented, learned, and grown, then we simply need to choose to be grateful for whatever He's taught us from the past and press on. We need to stop dwelling on the failures of yesterday and instead delight in the future God has for us. Stop worrying over our past and instead worship the God who blessed us even in the midst of all our fits and starts and ups and downs.
So today, thank You Lord for yesterday. Thank You for my daughters and for time alone with them. Thank you for the joys of fellowship... and for saunas and steam rooms and cherry blossom cream! Thank You for the past... but Lord, help us to press on toward tomorrow and the goal of knowing and loving and glorifying You in all our tomorrows. Help us to put aside the weight of past failures and push ahead to all that You have for us in the future. To God--the One who forgives our past, redeems our present, and promises our glorious future--be all the glory forever.
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