The fences of our past aren’t meant to keep us out. No, sometimes they are saying…fight to get in.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Looking back. Remembering. Today I had an interview. It was a phone interview and it lasted for about an hour. During the course of the interview the interviewer and I covered much ground, but the longest portion of our talk pertained to my past work experience. Questions such: “Name a time when you had to deal with an irate patient, how did you resolve the situation?”  In my working life I have had to deal with angry, irate, happy, sad and sometimes crazy patients. I have lots of stories, however, the moment the questions started coming my mind (which is normally full) went BLANK. 🙂 . I started a little mini panic on the inside. But God (I think I have said it before that is my favorite phrase in the Bible), reminded me of the verse He gave me in my morning devotion John 14:27. He reminded me that He had given me His peace, the peace that passes all understanding. I took a deep breath, thanked God for the reminder, and the stories came flooding in. I answered all her question with actual work examples. The interview ended, she thanked me for my time and told me I would have an answer in about a week. After hanging up I breathed a sigh of relief. I had given it my best and now it was in God’s hands. As I sat reflecting on the answers I had given, I realized something: we need to remember our past experiences. Why? Our past not only reminds us of how far we have come (or not come) it also helps to shape our future. That is part of the reason earlier today I posted my blog from a year ago. On that day I was thankful for new beginnings for new life, today I am thankful for a new journey, a new road to travel, and a possible new job. Some of us have painful past (trust me I know, I have had very dark days) and because of that we hide our past or feel ashamed of it. The problem is that once we start hiding we are always hiding, and we are never comfortable or secure enough to be who we really are. That is not what the past is meant to do. Our past whether beautiful or scary is meant to propel us forward, it is meant to be the stepping stone to something better. If our past is good then we have a good foundation on which to build. If our past is bad, then we have the opportunity to change our circumstance and fight for a brighter day. Never be ashamed of where you come from, but also don’t live there. Life is all about the growing forward and growing up. Today my past help me with my interview, it helped me crack open the door to my future.  Let your past do the same for you.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10).

Lesson: We all have a past and whether it be amazing or horrifying God wants to use it as a blessing for our future.