Have you ever wondered what life would be like if your body didn’t heal itself?
Think about that for a minute. What if every cut, scrape, and bruise you ever received was still on your body today?
Think about your childhood. What if every time you skinned your knee or bruised your arm as a child you carried it with you until your dying day? None of us made it out of our childhood without countless band-aids and bruises. Most of us even got scars.
What would your body look like today? You might find yourself wearing long sleeved shirts and long pants all the time to hide your past. And maybe you’d live life wearing a hat and sunglasses.
When we meet someone new we’d look at their body and we might ask them about the mark on their cheek or the gash on the back of their hand.
I think much of life would be trying to hide ourselves from others...trying to keep others from knowing the embarrassment of things that have happened to us in the past.
Lord knows, my body would be covered with countless marks from my life journey. As it is, my body today has plenty of scars. From being bit by a pet hamster on my finger in high school to having a softball line drive hit my shin as an adult, a close review of my body today would show some of my past that you would otherwise not know.
If our bodies didn’t heal, we would remember every hurt we had ever suffered. We would have to overcome our past by trying to look past every mark left on us. If we lived our life talking about our past, we might have conversations that are interesting, but at the end of the conversation we have just reported on history, something we can’t change.
History takes us to where we are today, but does it position or equip us for what we do today in preparation for tomorrow?
I thank God that he created our bodies to heal themselves. With limited exceptions we don’t live our past externally on our bodies.
Now, let me switch gears. What if every bad experience you have ever encountered created eternal scars on your inside? What if every time something unjust happened to you, every time someone lied to you about something important to you, every time a tragedy you experienced in your life got stuck inside you and you relived it every day?
You see where I am going.
A scar across our neck is readily visible to everyone we interact with. A deep wound on our inside is not visible and will not be accounted for in whoever we deal with unless we tell them. We would be reminded each day of being abused, being cheated on, losing a loved one too early, an unjust firing, and other traumatic happenings.
We are who we are today. And we find other people as they are. We engage with them but we don’t know what they are carrying on their inside. Some wake up every morning and have to self talk themselves into just making it through the day ahead.
In my walk of life as an attorney I hear amazing stories of journeys others have walked that are not apparent from the outside. With a few exceptions, I can’t image the overcoming they have had to do because I have never experienced what the steps they have walked. God bless each one of them.
My past tragedies have not been as significant as most of yours, but I have many past events that have left me in tears. Walking the valley is not fun...and it can be lonely.
I have been blessed with 64 years on this planet. I don’t know how many years I have ahead. But I know God has given me today. I also know He has equipped me for today and any tomorrows I may be gifted.
I do my best to put my past bad experiences in the rear view mirror. Looking back on them drags me down. Most all of them were caused by some external event beyond my control. Most of them involve deep cuts emotionally. Cuts that could easily leave scars on my inside.
To limit them to my small rear view mirror, most of these past valley walks involve forgiveness and an understanding of the hearts of the others involved at the time the significant event occurred.
I believe that today is given to me to do something that only I can do. Something that adds value to another or others. Something that makes this world a better place.
Just as God created our bodies to heal body damaging external experiences, He also desires to heal our damaging internal experiences. We must be able to do this to accomplish what we each need to be accomplishing.
In the Old Testament of the Bible in Isaiah 43:19 we’re told “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” In the New Testament in Luke 9:62 Jesus said “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
And in Philippians 3:13-14 the author Paul shares “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. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Is it possible to make a difference in the lives of others if I am carrying every cut and bruise on me and within me? I doubt it. If I spend my time focused on my past bad experiences, it would seem that my journey each day is focused on myself. Focusing on myself is selfish and does not help the person next to me.
My challenge to you today is to not forget about your past cuts and bruises. But, to put them in a box with a lid you can close and lock. They’re a part of your story, but they need to be contained and only used to help you fly higher if you’re going to live your life to add value to others. You are continuing to write your story.
Experience life to the fullest. You cannot do this without being cut and bruised. Cuts and bruises are a necessary part of a life well lived.
Free yourself of the ball and chain the past may have put around your ankle. Focus on the big window ahead of you, not the small rear view mirror showing what is behind you.
Every bump and bruise that has been a part of your past is a part of your past. Don’t spend time looking backwards. Get excited about today and your “todays” ahead. Press forward towards the goal. I believe you can do it.
Just a thought...
Rick Kraft is a motivational speaker, a syndicated columnist, a published author, and an attorney. To submit comments, contributions, or ideas, e-mail to rkraft@kraftlawfirm.orgmailto:thekraftlawfirm@aol.com or write to P.O. Box 850, Roswell, New Mexico, 88202 - 0850.
