Faith Focus: The weight of our past
For Melanie, returning to the Texas Hill Country was a homecoming. She’s from the area, but returning there wasn’t high on her list of priorities. The person she was the last time she was here was so broken. She worried that returning would evoke memories she would not want to recall. As if her past would somehow come out to greet her.
Each of us makes mistakes. We make poor decisions. We let others down. We even let ourselves down. Some of those errors cast long shadows over our lives that are hard to escape. The pain or shame is so deep and immense we struggle to let it go.
Christ offers us new life in him. He offers us freedom, if we are willing to accept it. Even more, we must allow ourselves to live in that freedom.
Sometimes it seems cliché to say “let go and let God” when dealing with the truly difficult parts of our lives. It often feels nebulous or even too easy. So let’s say it this way: Trust God. Trust he is who the Bible says he is. Trust he created you and made you carefully. Trust he loves you and cares about you each day.
Melanie trusted God during her trip to the Hill Country for a camp for single mothers and their families who are served through Buckner Family Pathways across the state.
Upon arrival, wonderful volunteers were holding signs of welcome and cheering. She immediately knew this was going to be a great time of fun and healing. What a mighty God. He knew this was a place where she needed to be: a place that deserved a joyful memory.
“These women are all so tender and brilliant,” she wrote. “We all long to be together and to share our experience as women, mothers, students and sisters in Christ – and we did. It reminded me of Psalm 45:13: ‘The king's daughter is all glorious within.’ We are all so beautifully and wonderfully made.”
Let us live in that truth as well this week.
Deeper reflection:
- Why is it so hard to let go of the pain that drags us down?
- How have you overcome circumstances in your past to live fully in Christ today?
Next steps:
- Make a list of your deepest fears and insecurities about yourself. Then look to see what the Bible says about you.
- Replace your fears with truth. Live in the truth this week.
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