Stuck in the Past

How often do you think of your past? If your like me, you think about it a lot. Maybe you're struggling with a past relationship, past friendship, past mistake, or a past addiction. I think about my past friendships and relationships all the time. I think about my past mistakes every single day.

I went through a stretch for two years where I was so focused on my past that nothing else seemed to matter. It seemed like the only two feelings I had were pain and sorrow. I took my pain out on some of the closet people in my life. I was in a never ending valley. Living in the past sets you up for failure. Living in the past will destroy your future. Sometimes we're so focused on our past pain that we close the door for future blessings.

You can either live in your past or learn from it. Your past can be a great learning tool. There is no such thing as a past failure if you learn from it. Don't dwell on your past pain, but use it as motivation to become a better person. Past pain doesn't mean future pain. Keep pressing.

God uses past failures to grow us for the future. Sometimes pain is apart of God's plan. It's one of the hardest things to accept. I struggled with this concept for the longest time. Through my brokenness is when God grew me the most. God wants your pain. It kills him to see you hurt.

Romans 5:3-4 states, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."

James 1:3-4 states, "For you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

Learning to embrace your past is a process. If your past is holding you back, reach out to someone you can trust. It's so much easier going through pain with someone else than doing it alone. Feel free to share this post and the rest of the blog with friends and family. Thank for all your support.