Faith Forward

During her presentation, Christian author and speaker Glenna Salsbury impressed truths about the importance of letting go of the past. To help us get where we need to go (and are called to be), positive faith-filled words must precede and follow our actions. Letting go means let it go completely. Choose to say “oh well,” shrug it off and simply move on. What an awesome response.

While teaching on the subject of letting the past go is often approached – the realty of the need to leave the past behind is no mystery. For some it comes as simple as saying, “Oh well. What happened, happened. The past is gone. You can’t change it.” But for many it takes a little more encouragement, plenty of supportive prayer and a continual feed of reminders to just let it be. The process of letting go is exactly that – a process of time, determination and resilient faith in action and word.

Since I was little, through the strains of an unhealthy, unbalanced life of neglect, emotional and mental abuse (and other forms of abuse), I was conditioned to think I was never good enough. I believed I had no talents, no gifts. I was in the way. I was unwanted and unloved. Point blank, I believed I was worthless. This victim mentality stuck with me for a long time and into part of my adulthood, long after I was separated from the abusive situations.

It wasn’t until a core group of friends chose to separate themselves from me and my self-critical, judgmental and self-indulgent thinking that I began to see the unhealthy condition my spirit was in and the toll it took in all areas of my life and in my family. My negativity was not only detrimental to me, it was draining them. Some people simply are not equipped to carry the heaviness of another’s sadness or self-condemning thinking. I knew I was at a critical crossroad in my life, and my future would depend on which road I chose.

Would I allow myself to be bound at the mercies of the past or choose to begin a new journey and step into new territory? 

There is a story within a story all I experienced to weigh out both options, but I finally chose to release the chains of my past and no longer be held captive to it. In doing so, I knew I needed to work hard to heal and to recondition my thinking and be free from that sticky muck of unhealthy living. When I chose to release the past and move away from potentially harmful and damaging situations, I chose to live life in the awesome abundance that God wants me to live in. I chose joy. I chose to love and to allow myself to be loved unconditionally in healthy ways. I chose to pass on the good news that God is a God who loves me for me and you for you and welcomes us into His presence just the way we are. I chose to know and to accept the truth that I am valuable and precious to our Lord. I chose life.

I’ve discovered that life is a beautiful precious gift. It is amazingly sweet. Exciting. Filled with wonderful opportunity and surprises. We truly are blessed. We all have gifts and talents woven inside us and once discovered and shared, they have awesome potential to bring joy to all around us.The future awaits, and I am on my way.

My friend, where are you in your journey? Does the past hold you down or keep you from moving forward? Do you want to live in that place of abundant peace and joy-filled living? Dear one, you can. There is hope. There is a way through. I can tell you to simply brush the dust off your feet and keep walking. I can tell you to shout out with me “Oh well!” but it’s not always as simple as that. It takes time and willingness to get to that point. Yet when you are there, you will know it. Freedom from the past is an open door to an amazing future. I am here to help you to learn how to shed the weight of an intangible past and gain the strength of a solid future. You can do this…

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Phil.3:12-13)

Blessings on you dear one, and glory to God!

Bonny.