Looking Back: Keeping it in Perspective

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this:
 God has made the one as well as the other. 
Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
Ecclesiastes 7:14

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This was the view I saw in my rear-view mirror on the way home from church Wednesday evening.
I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it as much if I'd have been driving towards it...
...as it would have either been hidden behind the visor or it would have blinded me.

So I did what any good blogger would do.

I reached in my purse and quickly grabbed my trusty point-n-shoot.

"Have point-n-shoot, will travel"...

...that has been my motto for the past two years :)

So when I got home, I uploaded it to my facebook page with these words...

"We all need to let go of the past but sometimes the best view is behind us" smile emoticon

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As what often happens, the photo got me to thinking about my life.

It seems the older I get, the more I miss the good ol' days and what life used to be like.

Or sometimes even about what it could have been like.

Now, just so you know, I don't dwell in the past as part of my normal routine...

...but I think if we are 100% honest with ourselves, we all do this to some degree.

What would my life be like if this (whatever) had or hadn't happened?...

...what would my marriage be like if I would have done (or not done) this or that?

...or maybe what could have I done to prevent such and such?

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A while ago I wrote the post If only..., where we visited a place called The City of Regret.

Now, please don't get me wrong...I don't live there by any means,

but I still can stop by there for a visit every now and then...
...more often than I prefer, to be perfectly honest.

I do consider myself to be a positive, joyful person for the most part,

but this is how the enemy works in our lives my life at times...

...by bringing back memories of those things from my past that I'm not so proud of.

Or maybe bringing to mind a time of struggle...

...a time of darkness.

Maybe it's a memory from long ago about some wrong decisions that were made,

resulting in situations and circumstances that you I thought were long forgotten.

I think you know where I'm coming from.
~

But on the other hand, looking back also can be good thing.

I mean, that's what many of our memories consist of...the good times.

Most of us have been blessed to have had sweet memories of growing up in a loving home,

or maybe it's when we think back to when we were first married and the births of our children...
 ...or maybe that first moment when we became a grandparent.
Such sweet memories!
~
Our lives are made up of a broad spectrum of events,
and sometimes it can be hard to keep these events in the proper perspective.
As Christians, we serve a Lord who is abundant in grace and mercy.
And I so love it when the Holy Spirit brings this to mind when I get off on the wrong path!
Whether we have lived a life with many or few regrets,
whether we have gone through many trials or maybe not so many,
it is what He has in store for us that we are to look forward to with joy!
~
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. 
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.
Philippians 3:13-14

So as I think about looking back at this lovely reflection of the sunset in my mirror,
 it is a reminder to me of who I am and where I came from.
It is a reminder to me of those beautiful, happy memories from days gone by.
But more importantly, it reminds me of how God never leaves my side.
Even Especially when the enemy tries to torment by using little reminders of those times...
 ...times when things weren't so good.

And how silly would I be to think that those days are over?!

He was and always will be getting me through them, moment by moment...
...holding me, His amazing grace flowing down all the while...
...regardless if the glorious sunset is before me or in my rear-view mirror :)
~
And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:16


I'm sharing here:

Spiritual Sundays
Sunday Stillness
Roses of Inspiration
Grace at Home