Good, to forgive; Best, to forget. Browning

I like the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. There is something quite powerful about closing the books on old things and turning the page to new and exciting things. How was your year? If it was like most, it had it's ups and downs - things that you will look back upon with fondness, and things that will cause you to shudder. It's the things that cause you to shudder that I want to focus on in this  little article.

Too often our past encumbers our future. People have done things to us that were unfair and unkind. We have done things to others that were unfair and unkind. We have had our disappointments and sorrows and times that we felt betrayed. After a lifetime, these things store up in our hearts and minds like poison. Is it any wonder, then, that we often have a hard time looking forward when our minds are filled with the toxins of the past? But, what can we do?

Forgive! If we ever want to accomplish all of the great and important things that God has in store for us, we must forgive those who have wronged us. And, we are going to have to ask forgiveness from those we have wronged - especially God, and then we are going to have to forgive ourselves. Having done that, we are going to have to forget about those past wrongs! Easy to say but hard to do, I know, but did you think that excellence came without a price? Did you think that the quality of life that most only dream about would come without effort?

Here is the thing: You can't put a new bag on your vacuum without first removing the old one that is clogged with filth. You would not change your car's oil without first draining out  the old oil and gunk. And, once you had removed all of that filth and gunk, you would not save it - much less cling to it - you would throw it out. In the same way, we cannot possibly start all of the exciting and new things that we want to accomplish in this new year until we have cleansed our lives of the gunk and filth of the past.

So do it! And get ready for a fresh and exciting new year for your Lord and Savior!

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14, NIV