Rear-View

I have a confession.

I'm a paranoid driver.

I have been rear-ended three times; all within a year and a half.

On the way home  from work the other day, I caught myself looking too much at the rear-view mirror. I noticed I was slowing down when it wasn't necessary and at other times, I was a second delayed in noticing what was happening in front of me.

My First Car Accident

Because of the accidents, I am constantly looking at my rear-view mirror. And I get nervous and anxious at least once almost every time I drive. It doesn't matter if it is a ten minute trip or a three-hour trip. It doesn't even matter if I'm the one driving, although I was driving all three times. A five-minute trip was my worst accident, the most minor accident was a one-hour drive.

It reminds me of how we as people treat our past sometimes. The rear-view mirror is there so we can occasionally glance back and see what is behind us. The mirror is there to help us move forward. It is not there for us to only watch behind us at all times and it is not there for us to completely ignore so that we never look back. It is too small for us to only watch our backs and it wouldn't be there if we were only supposed to focus forward.

Sometimes things happen to us that hurt us and we've been hurt to a point that we feel like we can't move past it or let go. While I don't think we need to ignore the hurt and pain we've experienced, I think we should work through it and realize there is hope. As Christians, we believe in a God of hope and love. I think that God would want us to live a life focusing on the love and hope we have instead of the hurt and pain that can hinder us. Glancing back on the pain and hurt can encourage us to look forward to a journey of growth and love.

Just as driving is a journey from one place to another, our life is a journey and we shouldn't spend too much time looking backwards or we won't get notice where we are at or where we are headed. However, it can be hard. Things can happen to us to cause us to focus more on our past, just like accidents can cause us to focus more on what is behind us.

I pray that on my journey ahead, I will focus on where I am and what is ahead, but not forgetting what is behind me.