“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” ~ Bil Keane
Yesterday was a great day at our parish school for our eighth grade class. That was the day that they graduated. Graduations are bittersweet moments for most students. It is bitter because they realize that they are moving on in life and that some of their classmates will not be moving on with them. Sure, they may all be going into high school (or college or grad school); however, they may not be attending the same school. They even may not be in the same state. They realize that the bonds of friendship will be stretched and that, for some, friendships may end. That is a bitter pill to swallow.
It is sweet, on the other hand, because they are moving on to new lives, new promises, new locations, new friendships, new subjects, and new goals. There is so much exciting about the prospect that most can hardly wait until the next step. The summer might be spent in an anxious, excited, frenzied state as they prepare for their new ventures.
Some are going to have a hard time moving on. They are going to be so reluctant to let go of the past that they will not be able to engage fully in the future. They will get stuck in memories, old hopes and dreams, and old times. They will hold on so tight that they will immobilize themselves and have an extremely difficult — if not impossible — adjustment to their new lives.
Living in the past is useless because the past is over. There is no way that it can be undone or redone or any other done that we might have in mind. Learning from the past is fine because it teaches us lessons. However, dwelling in the past does no one any good.
I realize that I have been “safe” thus far keeping this to graduates. However, you know that this also applies to all of our lives personal, professional, and spiritual. Some people are afraid to move on in their spiritual lives. They may have become very comfortable with their very basic way of praying and relating to the Lord and to each other in the Church. However, we are called to plunge ever deeper in our faith.
FAITH ACTION: Examine your faith life today. Have you been living in the past? Have you rejected the Lord’s invitation to grow in the faith? Learning from your past, reach out in the faith today.