Hidden Memories

Don't you hate it when this happens?

You are skipping along, enjoying life, when suddenly, you run into someone from your past, and they say, "Ohhh, I remember you."

You smile, nod, and walk away as the anxiety nearly brings you to your knees. The memories start flooding back as you recall who you were back then and the choices you used to make.

Your palms start to sweat, and your heart beats out of your chest as the dark, whispering voices circulate.

"See, they know who you really are. You are never going to amount to anything. You are a fraud. Just give up and return to the dirt and muck where you belong."

You shudder and feel shame wash over you as you fade into the past. All you can hear are those whispers as you sit back in the dirt and muck, flipping through the pages and images of the dark times of your past. You feel that old splintered wound ache again.

But then. 

You hear footsteps approaching. It is Jesus coming to save you once again. 

"Leave her alone; she's MINE!" He screams, and the voices scatter.

He picks you up, dusts you off, and holds you close as your sobs fill the air. 

He holds you by the shoulders and lifts your face to look you right in the eyes, reassuring you that you are loved, forgiven, and safe.   

He tells you how proud He is of you as he reminds you of how far you have come.  

You want to say that you are not that person anymore and that the old you is gone forever.

We are made new, that is true. 

But when those embarrassing stings of flashbacks come flooding back, we get the sense that those fractures of our former selves still reside within. 

Can you return to that memory and look at it through the lens of mercy and love instead of shame? 

Can you see how you were scared and lonely?   

Can you embrace, forgive, and love that former version of yourself the way Jesus does? 

When He looks back at those memories, He sees someone He loves so very much. 

He sees someone lost who needed saving, someone left unprotected who needed to be rescued, and someone who was lost and is now found.

I know it hurts when you remember. But you my precious friend are here now. You are found, saved, forgiven and so very loved.

Let's make those memories count for something good. 

And don't forget, God loves you, and so do I!

Isaiah 43: 18-19

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Philippians 3: 13-14

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.