“One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
I took my time traversing through wet grass, trees, and bushes looking for my golf ball. Even though I’d observed its path along a pair of trees, I couldn’t find my shiny new ball anywhere. How could I lose it so easily; it was bright pink?!
Do you know there’s a time limit for searching for lost balls? The purpose is to keep the game moving along continuously without long pauses in play. Since I was playing alone, I had a bit more time to poke around for it.
Some things, we never recover. It was true that day; I left my ball behind, somewhere.
I’ve lost a lot of things in life … and I’m not talking about little golf balls. Can you look back on your life and sense the sorrow over lost years, lost opportunities, lost health, lost finances, lost trust, a lost marriage … ugh losses.
The famous poem in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 rings true – there is a time for everything, including a time to let go of our losses.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
It is very normal and important to grieve our losses. But if in time, our sorrow turns sour, we’ll need to ask ourselves if we’re stuck. Our pain can turn into depression, resentment, unforgiveness, negativity, ruminating on the past, complaining, bitterness, displaced anger, blaming, despair, and regret. Do you see these reactions creeping into your life?
We have an abundant life ready to experience now – there are people to love, our potential to develop, and our purpose to carry out. How can we let our past continue to rob us?
The apostle Paul said, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13).” I imagine he had to forgive and let go of a lot of things including persecution, abandonment, and injustice.
In golf, we’re given just three minutes before we cut our losses, but in life, it’s likely to take longer, but how long? Is it your time and season to let go? Imagine if you could be free and unburdened. Can you see yourself being happy, creative, and optimistic? What would it be like if you could look forward instead of back? What if you could let go of the life you wished you had so you could dream new dreams for your future?