The past may not define your future...
...but it isn't necessarily stagnant. We always say, 'what's in the past is passed.' And yet for a second time my past has come up - but not in a negative way at all; in a positive way. There are two separate but major incidents in my past where people have hurt me and affected my state of stability involving relationships all around. My self worth was questioned, my heart began to close off to people, and I was left with some scars that still affect me in ways. But little did I know those same people would eventually be the stepping stones to a better me. Painful experiences will grow and shape who we are, even when we thought we had already learned everything we were going to learn out of the experience.
I once had a college group leader who would always say, "God can use the negative to get to the positive; he can turn it around into a blessing." I think it is so neat that even though I've stepped away from the past, he has brought the past back to me because I needed it; because it wasn't finished. It sounds backwards; usually we say "when it's done, it's done and you move on" but sometimes there's more to gain; more to resolve, even if it's just as simple as a confirmation of forgiveness. He always sees the bigger picture.
I once had a college group leader who would always say, "God can use the negative to get to the positive; he can turn it around into a blessing." I think it is so neat that even though I've stepped away from the past, he has brought the past back to me because I needed it; because it wasn't finished. It sounds backwards; usually we say "when it's done, it's done and you move on" but sometimes there's more to gain; more to resolve, even if it's just as simple as a confirmation of forgiveness. He always sees the bigger picture.