Thursday, October 14, 2010

Past

Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title. ~Virginia Woolf

The past is complicated.

There's only so much about the past that we actually want to dwell on; but even then, those few bits and pieces are tricky to deal with at times.

How many of us look back over our lives and wish that we had done things differently?

How often are our hearts flooded with "what if..."s and second guesses?

Is this why the idea of time travel is so appealing?

The idea that maybe...just maybe...we could leap through the threads of time and make a different choice...

For some people, the idea is intoxicating. For others, the idea has never even entered their minds.

It's all in how you look at it, I suppose.

The past is part of who we are. It's the stones that make up the road that we have passed over in our journey of existence.

Those old relationships...those moments we wish we could take back...those choices we desperately wish to re-do...it's all part of the masterplan, set in motion by the One who holds our past and future in His hands.

Is it always easy to look back?

No.

Are there times we catch ourselves standing on that cliff, looking over the mist-shrouded mountains of our future, and find our gaze drifting backwards to glimpse the past moments?

Yes.


Is the past important? More than we will ever know. It's what got us here.

The past is the tool of God to move us forward...

...upward...

...onward...

...inward...

...it's not perfect.

But it is precious.

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. ~Psalm 40:5

6 comments:

  1. mm, these are good thoughts, and one of my favorite Bible verses!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am surprised to see my photo used here.(it is called road to nowhere) Happy you like it enough to use it on your blog, but it would have been so nice if you just would have asked and i could have given permission to use it.
    Not to mention the copyright.

    Kind regards,
    Petra Oldeman

    ReplyDelete
  3. Petra,

    Your photo was on a free photo-sharing site called "WeHeartIt." This is where the lion share of my photographs come from. At the bottom of my blog, you will observe that I have stated that all photographs come from said site, unless otherwise marked. I had no idea the photo was not available for use without permission, as WeHeartIt does not have contacts and such. The image has been removed and replaced.

    Regards and blessings,
    ~Rachel

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you very much for your answer Rachel. No need to remove it. I am honoured that you like it. Just did a search on the internet for my photographs and was amazed by the fact how many times photos are used without giving credit to the photoprapher.
    Anyway...good luck with your blog!
    Petra

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is indeed a sad fact of the internet. This is why I suggest to most photographer friends to put watermarks on their photos, so that they are not mistaken for any old random internet image and are taken without permission.

    Your photography is truly wonderful. =)

    ReplyDelete

I look at you and see all the ways a soul can bruise, and I wish I could sink my hands into your flesh and light lanterns along your spine so you know there's nothing but light when I see you. :: Shinji Moon