Long Way Home
I’ve never been the one that needed help! I’ve always been the one that people came to for help, encouragement, just to have someone listen to them while they talked. It’s hard when you come to the realization that you’re really the one that needed the help all this time. Last night I used an anology that struck a chord with me. I’ve always thought that easiest way to learn something was to teach someone else what you’re trying to learn. You spend so much time trying to explain it the other person that it eventually clicks with you and you totally understand what it is that you need to do. Last night in the process of listening and advising a friend of mine I realized that I was telling them to do something that I needed to do myself but just like this person I don’t really know how to do it. See, it’s one thing to think about the future, it’s another thing to worry about it and fear it. It’s one thing to remember the past, it’s another to dwell on it.
Have you ever had a scab that you constantly picked at? It took about 2 months for a tiny little knick to heal when it could have healed in a week if you had just left it alone.
Dwelling on the past is like picking at a scab. Someone hurt you 10 years ago but you constantly remember what that person did to you. Maybe they meant to do it and maybe they didn’t but 10 years down the road you’re still thinking about it. Refusing to let it go. The wound is constantly refreshed because you keep pealing back the scab and letting it bleed. There are times when you HAVE to let things go. Scars add character to a person, they mold them and help to guide the way a person is. It’s not a bad thing to be hurt from time to time, but you have to let yourself heal. Sometimes that healing process begins with just forgiving yourself. We’re all human and we’re entitled to make mistakes. God gave us the will to make our own decisions and he allowed us to make those decisions freely. God did not make us perfect, he didn’t give us the ability to read minds or see into the future and he certainly didn’t make us infallible. So why is that we hold ourselves accountable for mistakes that we made years ago? Yes you have to stand up and face the consequences of those mistakes, but no one expects you to be perfect and no one ever expects you to make it through life without messing up somewhere. Forgive yourself and forgive the ones that cause you harm, learn from the mistakes that you make and move one. God didn’t give us the ability to go back in time and correct our mistakes either. You can’t change what’s already done. Just do the best you can to live with it.
Worrying about the future is just as damaging as dwelling on the past. I’ve spent the last 4 months scared to death that I won’t get what I want. I didn’t realize that fear is causing things to go in a direction that I don’t want them to go. Prepare for the future, do the best you can and keep getting up everyday. That’s all you can do. You’ll never be able to cover all your bases, you’ll never be able to plan for every contingency and ultimately you’ll never be able to guide your future. The only thing you can do is hope for the best and plan for the worst. So why should I worry about it if I can’t REALLY control it? The answer to the question is a very simple, “You shouldn’t worry about it!”
Dwelling on the past and worrying about the future have been my biggest down falls over the course of my life and I’ve missed out on a lot of things because I was too busy worrying or hurting about something that I couldn’t change and I couldn’t control. I want to be able to enjoy my life, to think about the good memories, to enjoy my time now and to not worry about the future. I’m finally starting to realize what I need to do to be happy, but in all the changes that I’ve made over the past months I realize that it’s still a “Long Way Home”.
Bebo Norman is a wonderful artist.