Are You Trying to Recreate 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…” Isaiah 43:19 NIV

We all have favorite memories, moments in time we’d love to relive. But if you dwell in the past too much you can miss the new that God wants to do in your life.

If you’re ever tried to recreate that first date with your spouse, recapture the wonder of a family vacation when the kids were little, or relive a childhood memory of an ice cream cone at a favorite place, then you’ve probably felt the frustration of a date or trip or moment gone wrong. Life and people have moved on.

Your spouse is preoccupied with a problem at work. The kids want to go off and do their own thing now instead of hanging with the parents, and let’s face it, that ice cream cone just doesn’t taste the way it did when you were eight.

I’ve been there. I’ve imagined recreating a date night with my husband like we enjoyed a few years ago. But reality hit me as I was dreaming/scheming to recreate the moment. Time has taken over. The restaurant has changed hands. My husband’s concept of a relaxing evening has changed. I’ve changed.

I realized I needed to let go of trying to recreate something from the past and find ways to create new memories. Find a new favorite restaurant, a fresh way to spend time together. Forge a new path and fill my memory bank with something new. Quit living in the past and start looking towards the future.

Sometimes beautiful moments will surprise you. Often they come through letting go of the past so you can anticipate and look forward to what’s ahead.

God has a future and a hope for you. He’s all about new! New covenant, new mercies, new hearts, new creations. Be thankful for the memories. Hold those special moments in your heart, but reach into your future and build something new.

Pray:“God, I thank you for the good memories I have, but I don’t want to live in the past. Help me move towards the new and good future you have for me. In Jesus’ name, amen!”

Seek: What special new thing would you like to do? Make plans now to create a new memory for yourself, your family or a friend.

Speak: I embrace the new thing God is doing in my life!