Reflecting on What I Left Behind

20140925_071502

copyright © astorybyme 2014

Today as I was driving to work the sun had just risen and I was driving directly into it.  It was so bright that the light stung my eyes so bad that I could barely open them to drive and I was relieved to turn into the parking lot because the driveway goes in the totally opposite direction than the one I had been traveling.  With the sun behind me now and heading for my parking spot I happened to catch a glimpse of the sun in my rear view mirror, it was breathtakingly beautiful!  So beautiful that I decided I just had to stop and take a picture of it’s reflection in the mirror.  As I was taking the picture I realized that the sun that had been blinding me a minute ago didn’t hurt my eyes at all when it was a reflection in the mirror behind me.

After I parked my car as I was walking into the church I saw that the sun was once again in front of me but this time it was a little higher in the sky and though shining brightly over the church it wasn’t painful to look towards it anymore.  As I was unlocking the door to the building all the sudden I just felt so overwhelmed by thankfulness that I was blinded by tears (happy tears) as I thought to myself, “if someone would have told me I would be in this place in my life one day, I would have never have believed them.”

I went in the building and soon got to work but while I was working this morning I kept thinking about my past and where I am now and realized that my life is kinda the same as the sun reflecting back in the mirror… what is behind me today at one time used to be in front of me.

Sometimes our lives can be really painful and we have no way of getting around it so we have to head straight into it in order to get through it.  Today when I reflect back on my past I find that where I have been in my past though sometimes painful it was exactly where I needed to go in order to get to where I am today.

When I am driving in my car and I look in the rear-view mirror I see a reflection of where I have been and I know I could never have gotten to where I am on this road without having ever traveled the road behind me.  I also know if I were to turn around I wouldn’t ever get to where I am going.

It is the same way with our lives. Sometimes I may get a glimpse of where I’ve been or who I used to be, but now when I look back I can see that it is all a part of what has put me where I am today and it has made me who I am today.  My past is NOT who I am anymore but I had to have traveled that road in my past in order to get to where I am now and also to get to where I am going.

I have had people to tell me I should always keep moving forward and never look back. Though I do always try keep moving forward, today I did look back because I think for me sometimes I need to look back.  I think it is okay to look back and reflect on the old me from time to time because it shows me just how far I have come.

Today when I saw the sun rising behind me in my mirror it reminded me that when I look back on my past, the ‘SON’ (Jesus) was there with me rising up above it all the whole time.

Thanks for reading,

http---signatures.mylivesignature.com-54492-123-D87D4E2CD60173644C957AE3C92A2473

19 thoughts on “Reflecting on What I Left Behind”

  1. Pingback: Words to Live By | Ruth Williams' Blog
  3. Beverley says:
    Reply

    Hi Terri, what are we like, I hope you don’t get fed up of me saying this, but this post like many others you have written always feels like you are writing about me, this particular post is a reflection on where I have been and where I am now, I know that most of us have had some form of unpleasant journey, and this is how we grow and become who we are today, like you said the sun behinds us, does not hurt our eyes as much, and as the saying goes when we journey towards the sun it casts our shadows behind. Thank you for this post Terri. Totally Well written. I sincerely hope your eyes, will not fail you, Gods willing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • T says:
      Reply

      Hi Beverley, Thank you for your kind words as always. I will never get fed up with you for saying that, I just write what I feel like God wants me to write and if it touches someone where they are at then maybe that is what he had planned. I just feel so humbled sometimes that people would read my blog, and honored that you keep coming back so often. Thank you and God Bless you.

      Like

  8. Freedomborn ... Aussie Christian Focus says:
    Reply

    I agree with you T, it is okay to look back and reflect on where we have come from, not holding onto shame but giving thanks that we were rescued and looking ahead without worry for a brighter eternal future.

    I have decided to phone you on Monday T as you suggested but I won’t be able to talk for long but long enough to hear your accent and to share briefly, I don’t have an accent, all my Aussie friends said so Lol

    Christian blessings and much Love Always – Anne

    Liked by 1 person

    • T says:
      Reply

      Thank you for your comment and for reading Anne.
      Monday is fine though I think it may be Tuesday in Australia when it is Monday here?? or something like that lol. I will be looking forward to hearing that accent that your Aussie friends say you don’t have 😉 You never know I could have an accent of my own :))

      Like

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them!

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s