You Can't Change the Past; You Can Only Shape the Future.

     "If I only I would have put a lock on the fence."  "If only I had looked behind my car before I backed out of the driveway that morning."  "If only I would have listened to that voice inside me that said something was wrong."  If only I had been a better son or daughter."  "If only I had not opened my big mouth." If only....If only....If only.  Should a, could a, would a.

     We can "if only" ourselves to death.  Statements or thoughts focused on doing the impossible--changing or rewriting the past--can be dangerous.  They are feeble efforts to change what cannot be changed, to undue what has already been done, to give back what has been lost forever.  

     Think about this.  Most people, to some degree or another, believe that their God can do all or many things for mankind in day to day living.  That belief is to some degree at the foundation of daily prayers, faith and church activity.  Interestingly, however, is the concept that there is one thing that even an Omnipotent God cannot do--He cannot change or undue the past.  What happened, has happened.  It's over and done.  It is crucial that we accept that reality and, at once, begin to use our energies, actions, and faith to become endowed with the strength and ability to deal overcome the challenges that stem from days gone by.  God can help us move forward but he cannot change the past.  Accepting that truth, is crucial to our ability to rise above the storms of yesteryear, to begin the process of shaping our future all the wiser for the experiences we have endured.

Ford Theatre where President Lincoln was shot.

     As hard as we try, we can’t go back in time—ever—to change a single word, action, or event that we allow to torment us in the present.  We certainly have the right to dwell on the past.  Most of us do it a lot and are quite "good" (destructive) at it.  We backtrack in our heads over and over about our imperfect pasts, our multitude of sins, our past evils, and our unchangeable errors.  We go on and on until we make ourselves sick with regret, weak with decay,  and frozen with grief.

     The problem is that by languishing and endlessly wallowing in past events we, in reality, let those past events control us and have ongoing negative impacts on our lives.  We only become empowered and firmly anchored in reality to move on when we are able to leave behind the shackles that bind us, rise above our mistakes, and learn from them.  When we cling onto the reality that from where we stand today, we are in the captains seat, the prime position to shape our futures, then our past becomes our great teacher that gives us wisdom through hard knocks.  We must let past experiences teach us but not control us.  We must allow them to forge us into more empathetic, patient, and caring people.  The events of days gone, then will only serve us if we don't repeat the mistakes and, instead, allow ourselves to become the master forgers of our destinies. 

     True, we cannot change the past, but we can certainly shape the future for good.  The seeds of perfection inside of us best grow into true potential when we live and learn, admit errors and correct them, and change our course of living to more effectively meet our ideals.