Closing the Door to Yesterday...

Bible readings... 
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36
“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.” Isaiah 43:18
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
 “…the righteous shall move onward and forward; those with pure hearts shall become stronger and stronger.”
​Job 17:9
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Hello everyone…and a big welcome today, to Sunday Inspiration…through the Risen Hope Ministries! I am so glad you stopped by today and my prayer for you…as we spend this time together; is that you will come to see that with God; there is always a place to begin again…a place where everything can be made new!
 
I think that sometimes, we can forget that our yesterdays are gone forever. Even as I sit here today, I often wonder why we choose to step back into days that will never return to us again. Maybe it’s because we have left a door open to the past; that needs to be shut up for good and locked…never to be opened again.
 
I will never forget the moments, when I had returned home, to close a door that had brought much pain into my life. At that time, I was going to group counseling for a past sexual abuse; that never surfaced, until I was in my 30’s. As it reopened a door within my heart…a rush came over me; that made me realize without a doubt; that I had been sexually abused by my grandfather. Even though he had passed away many years back; there was something pulling me back home…and now I know that was God.
 
As I went to the grave, where my grandfather was buried…I became very angry; as all the feelings of the past…that had been bottled up for many years began to flow out…all at once. As I walked up to his head stone, I reached down and began to shake the stone, with strength I never thought I could ever have, until the stone broke loose from the ground.
 
From there…I visited his grave several other times; but it was the final visit that made the difference. As I sat on a stump near my grandfather’s grave, I began to talk with God…for I knew in my heart; that the door to this painful part of my past could not be shut and locked, until I learned to forgive him…but how could I ever do that?
 
As I continued to sit on that stump…I began to sing… “I surrender all…I surrender all; all to thee my blessed Savior…I surrender all.” I came to see that day; that I had been holding tightly to a part of my life; that allowed that part of my heart to remain open. I found out that the door couldn’t be shut because I was holding it open. The minute I began to surrender everything over to God; that is when the transition began to take place…and instead of anger; my heart began to have pity for my grandfather…for God had taken my humble heart and allowed it to see deeper into what took place, rather than what I had actually experienced.
 
As my husband and I left that place…I made a promise to God that I would never return to that place again; for now the door had been shut and locked, to a very painful part of my past. As we drove away…the heart that had been shredded to pieces at one time; was now coming back alive and beating, with a natural rhythm of peace.
 
No matter what has wounded you in life; just know that there is hope! God can help you to move out of the past and lock that part of your life up forever; but first, you must be willing to let Him help you close the door…just as He did for me.
Blessings on your day!
It’s Always & Only Because of Him…
Diane
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