"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Matthew 5:14-15

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

Friday, October 18, 2013

M is for Memories - Blog Hop Friday

A to Z blog hop at Patterings.
My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants;
    we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.
He decreed statutes for Jacob
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,
    and they in turn would tell their children.
Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget his deeds
    but would keep his commands.
They would not be like their ancestors
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Psalm 78:1-8

So often we become wrapped up in our memories - not that this is a bad thing, but it can be when we choose to live in those memories.

I heard a blurb on the radio a couple days ago about living in our backstory. Dictionary.com defines it as: a narrative providing a history or background context, especially for a character or situation in a  literary work, film, or dramatic series.

Now one could argue that this only applies to the movies or fiction stories. But each of us have a backstory, and often they are filled with hurts and sorrows we've experienced through the years. Those memories that we continue to relive and can't move past.

I'm a firm believer that we weren't created to live in our memories or our backstory. We are called to live in the present. Like this scripture says, the things we are to pass on to the next generation is the goodness of God and how He has provided for us.


How are you doing with letting go of those painful memories (backstory) and instead looking toward finding the ways God has provided for you?

4 comments:

Pencildancers said...

I like that 'backstory' line. I find most of the time I don't dwell on those things but when they creep up I tend to eat more. :( Then I go to God. When am I ever going to learn to go to God first?
Diana

Jodie Wolfe said...

Food can have such a powerful sway, can't it Diana? I too struggle in this area.

Barbara Lynn Culler said...

I used to have issues with my past histories but guess with time, was able to work through them. Glad for that!

Karla Akins said...

Great post! I use my backstory to propel me forward to greater things. I am thankful that my sins are washed away and cast as far as the east is from the west.