Straining Toward What Is Ahead

To tell you the truth, when I woke up this morning, I had no clue what I was going to write about. Most times, I know what I'm going to write the night before. However, I just came across a quote that really, really spoke to me and resonated with me from a book I read a few weeks ago. 

You know how you just know that God is speaking to you and He brings something into your life when you most need it?! This quote is exactly what I needed to read this morning.

"Whatever happened in the past is over and done with. You cannot change it, you can only channel it. That means you take whatever pain you lived through and channel the power of it into something meaningful today. Today you are a survivor...You must refuse to ruminate about the past that is over and wake up to the life you have now, focusing on the opportunities before you."
-Stephen Arterburn, Reframe Your Life

Every single part of this quote made me think this morning as I read and reread it. Sometimes I struggle a lot with rumination over the past, due to the intrusive memories and flashbacks that come with my PTSD. But someone in my life is really challenging me to move forward, to move past the past to the opportunities ahead of me.

I know this quote is God encouraging me to move forward, to realize that I am a survivor and not a victim anymore. God wants me to move forward and not be stuck back there. I don't want to be stuck back there. I don't want to be back there at all. I want to move forward with my life, moving forward into the wonderful plans God has for me.

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."
-Philippians 3:13b (NIV)

I believe that God has great plans for each of us and He does not want us to be stuck in the past. "The past is over and done with." And so we strive to move forward every single day. We strive to make each day a new one instead of living in the past. We strive to find meaning in the past, but not get stuck back there.

This life is a journey, often challenging but worth every moment.