Please read and see the bottom of this post for a serious request.
There it was again – the past.
It showed up a lot yesterday.
First thing in the morning when I woke up thinking about the night before. The night before had a little drama in it and I didn’t want it in my morning. So I “shooed” it away and started my new day.
Then on to a business meeting and I had to go into the details of my past experiences in the political world. The discussion turned to what I had done, how I had become involved and why I decided to leave political activism in my past. I didn’t like talking about that experience BUT this businessman did and he was intrigued by it all.
Followed that with a business lunch with a friend of the past. The discussion went there – to the past and it stayed there for a little while … until … we let it go and focused on the future and all the opportunities it presented. He was excited about some life changing things happening and I was too. The future was looking bright indeed!
I said good-bye to my friend and I took off to another business meeting. And what happened in the meeting? Yep, you guessed it. The past showed up. One person commented on a shovel that had shown up and someone wanted to dig into their past. The past was gone but someone else wanted to dig it up. Isn’t that just like people? Let’s go digging around in someone else’s past and talk about them seems to be a cultural norm these days.
And as we sat there talking about great future business ideas and opportunities, a text message “dinged” on my phone. My attorney wanted to let me know something really cool. He was excited to tell me. A case he was working on was similar to one he had helped me with. So he dug into my past case and was able to find case history to use in this new lawsuit. He was excited and wanted to let me know.
I stared at the text. I didn’t like going back to that past. In fact it was one of the top three items on my list of “I hate that part of my past.”
But…he was excited! He wanted to share his excitement with me and let me know my past was working out good in someone else’s life.
The meeting continued and future endeavors were agreed to and life was looking great!
Off I went to another encounter and then to dinner with good friends.
It was a good day and the conversation was relaxing. Then – a call from a friend out west. Someone who was in my past was calling to tell me of a horrible accident. A friend had been hurt on an ATV and was in bad shape. Right there in the restaurant I started crying. My heart was aching knowing this man had been so badly hurt and laid on the ground for hours before he was found.
All through the night he was there on the rocky, hard ground unable to move and waiting for someone to show up so his future could.
Phone calls to friends and discussions about his future were on our minds.
And then…bed. I climbed into bed and prayed for my friend – and asked God to send angels to minister to him and give him a future. I knew angels had been with him all night as he waited for someone to find him. I only hoped he knew they were there.
I feel asleep crying about him and then I was fast asleep. A deep sleep. I don’t know if dreams came but the morning did and it was quick. I woke up before the sun did.
And I walked and walked on the riverwalk near my home. My spirit was anxious to know how my friend was doing.
And then God said – in my head – “Yesterday was the past. Today is a new day. Stop worrying. I got this. Go live fully in this day and I’ll take care of you and your friend.”
As the sun rose over my city, I knew what I was learning and the day had just begun:
• Don’t wake up thinking about yesterday. Bury it. It’s over.
• Don’t let anyone else bring a shovel to dig up your past. You buried it and it’s not their past anyway!
• It’s okay to look back but don’t stay there long. Learn from it and use it to make great decisions today.
• You may not see another sunset. You could be gone in the blink of an eye. It happens. Don’t waste your energy on negative thoughts or negative people.
• Forgive yourself for past mistakes and stop beating yourself up. Others will do that for you! And when they do – erase them from your life!
Please pray for my friend, my friends. He’s the rancher from my book. My sweet rancher friend, Dan Eddleman.
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