Looking Back

         Do you remember the story of Lot's wife looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah as those cities were being destroyed? Of course, she disobeyed specific instructions in doing so and ended up as a pillar of salt.  But that is not what I specifically want to talk about. Instead I want to talk about looking back in a different way because it is not ALWAYS a bad thing. In fact, in many ways looking back can be a great help in helping us move forward. How?  Well, there are two thoughts I have on that so let me discuss them separately.

     Looking back on the good things in our lives can bring us joy, peace and satisfaction. It can also help us be so very grateful for all the blessings we have received in the past. And being grateful can bring us closer to the Lord which in turn helps us feel closer to those around us. So reflecting on the good things in the past can truly bless us and others in our lives. Another good reason to have a journal, even if it is only a gratitude journal, filled with all those good things we feel blessed with.

     Looking back on the bad things that have happened in our lives CAN be a real downer and get us discouraged and depressed. Sometimes, but NOT always, we need to go through those negative things in order to get through them and find peace again. As we see the bad things that have happened because of our choices we can resolve to avoid doing them again. As we see bad things caused by others in our lives we can choose to learn to deal with them in a better way. AND that is where the looking back on bad things in our lives CAN help. As we look at them, evaluate the how, why, when, where aspect, we can learn from them. We can learn what not to do again, how to avoid them, and seek to find the lessons the Lord would have us learn from them. And in that sense of the word they help us move forward.

     So how does looking back help us move forward in becoming? Just as stated above we learn from them. We can learn from the good to find joy and gratitude as well as ways to bring more good into our lives and the lives of those around us. Looking back on the bad, we can seek the lessons the Lord would have us learn, so as not to keep making the same mistake over and over. And each time we are able to avoid those mistakes, or wrong choices, we draw closer to the Lord, we become a little stronger and more faithful to Him and to ourselves. And in so doing we become the person the Lord set us apart to be when He sent us to this earth. 

     So look back, but with courage, faith, strength and a desire to learn from the past. Isn't that why we have scriptures and history - to learn from? We don't have to experience everything personally on this earth, especially the bad things. The Lord DOES want us to learn from the examples of others by striving to follow the good examples and learning what happens from the bad examples...and avoiding that in our lives.

     And one more thing about looking back. Look back, but don't allow yourself to get stuck there. Don't get hung up on mistakes you made. Don't obsess over a good thing you still wish could be happening in your life. Look back! Learn! And then move forward in order to make more good memories and, again, to BECOME!!!!!