Blast from the past...

I have a friend who's mantra is 'you can't let your past determine your future'. Good mantra eh? But what happens in our formative years really does to some extent shape who we are. Last week we visited my husbands family who live in a well to do seaside town on the south coast. He hadn't been there since he left at 18 and was sharing with me how for most of his childhood he lived in abject poverty. Most of his school chums were from very middle class families and did things that cost money like horse riding, which is perhaps why he was so into books - libraries are free! Living in this juxtaposition compounded his sense of unworthiness. However since then he has worked extremely hard and risen to the top of his profession. He has huge responsibility both professionally and spiritually. Yet going back to that town took him back to his childhood and he had to actually shake off a sense of shrinking back to who he no longer was.

Our past can have a huge affect on who we become or it can be the spring broad for great things. But in order to embrace who you've become the past, like a coat you've grown out of, needs to be taken off. Our growth is God's agenda; we are designed to grow, increase in life, to become more and bear fruit. However we can't do this if we try and navigate life looking backwards. Perhaps this is why our eyes are on the front of our heads? We have a hope and a future that is not of this world but we'll not see it if we're looking behind. It's not were we've been but where we're going that really should be the catalyst for our motivations and choices in our today. If you've been experincing a blast from the past - rejoice in how far you have come and be excitied about where God's going to take you...


Hugs Ruth x