Yesterday
I had a dream one night that I was in my living room and there was a maze on the wall. As I was trying to walk through it to find my way out I kept looking over my shoulder. When I looked back to where I was going I was blocked in front of a wall or I had missed my turn to get out so I had to turn around. Then again working my way out and looked over my shoulder at where I had been, looked back forward and I had gotten off the path to get out of this frustrating place. As I begin to wake up the Lord said, you cannot move forward looking backwards. Whew! What a message to me. I was in a frustrating place, needing answers and a way out of the situation I was in. But as I was attempting to move forward the pain, sorrow and hurt of the past was affecting my ability to move forward. My focus was off, my walk was off, my faith was off.
One of the hardest seasons of my life was when my Daddy went to heaven. He died as the result of an accident, several intense weeks after the accident. It was traumatic and heart crushing. I was left with more questions than answers. I struggled with grief and what if’s. There was no question in my heart where Daddy was and Heaven was wonderful I knew. I was trapped looking over my shoulder at the past. It was hard to see the future without him. He was like a rock in our lives and the ground I walked on seemed unstable. One day I received a phone call and they asked me how I was doing. Of course I said I am fine, doing good. Honestly that was the face I put on for my friends, children, family co-workers. Being strong was my life, who I was. In reality I wasn’t good at all. Many days I just wanted to go where my Daddy was. Then this person that God prompted to call me said….I want you to remember your Daddy isn’t just in your past he is now in your future. In a moment God did for me what I couldn’t do for myself. My focus changed and I wasn’t compelled to look back. I walked out of that maze …looking forward….my life was ahead of me and my Daddy was also ahead of me.
We all live in a world where things happen. Our choices, the choices of others, injustice, disappointment, sorrow and the like affect us all. We can easily become self focused, trusting only in ourselves, determined to control everything around us not to experience any of those things again. When we live that way we become captive to the past and our way to our good future is blocked, we live in a maze and can’t seem to find a way out. But there is a way out of the maze.
Jeremiah tells us Judah was in captivity due to their own choices and sin. It was in that situation that God said…For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11. But there is more, verse 12-14 says when we call, pray, seek and find Him he will bring us out of captivity.
That is not the only maze I have been in. The lesson learned from the dream about my maze has helped me get out of that place faster. It has kept me from allowing grief to rule my life in several situations. Oh the goodness of God in the hard places! I know we can and must learn lessons from yesterday but we must walk forward in relationship and communion with Father God knowing there is hope in our future!
-Melody
/
Melody's Moments 