Looking Back to Move Forward

 When was the last time you took an inventory of your life?  Learning from your past can propel you with insight into your future.  Don’t be afraid to look at behaviors, choices, and belief systems that were unhealthy, kept you stuck, or caused you pain.  You can’t address what you don’t confront and you can’t always move forward until you get curious about your past.  

Psalm 90:12 says “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Is there wisdom in choosing to look back when you are taught to move forward?  Dr. Henry Cloud said, “If you ‘go back’, make sure you are going forward.” You can’t change the past, so what’s the point?  The point is that you actually do have a choice.  You can allow the past to TEACH you or HINDER you.    

You have to look back when the pain of your past is still influencing your present.  Are you currently feeling stuck?  Are you able to dream or set goals?  Are you consumed with worry and anxiety?  Healthy reflection may bring you one step closer to moving forward.

Could your past be the megaphone dictating your current outcomes? The good news is that you don’t have to stay there. The past doesn’t have to limit you any more. As you become aware of how your past is constraining you, you can begin to break free.

At CornerStone, the past becomes our stepping stone. We don’t eliminate it but we learn from it. We forge ahead and let it inform us rather than deform us. We look behind us from a place of power instead of fear.  We are transformed as we remember that God was in our past, He is present now, and He holds our future.

Author Amy Talton is the Director of Community Care

at the Cornerstone Initiative