Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Corinthians 5:17-21
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Dwelling upon the past with regret and bitterness is never a good thing. But neither is completely ignoring it, as if it never happened. It is important that we look at the psychology behind our life experiences, for they make us who we are. We none of us are excluded from having to carry baggage. And though our individual luggage sets may differ in size and color, often we can find others who have packed similar, if not the same, items inside.
Looking into the past is never easy, especially when your past is fraught with bad memories and regretful decisions. In reflecting upon mine, I realized that in sharing through such a public forum, I needed to choose my words carefully as to not portray anyone in a bad light. There were also certain details that needed picking through. Knowing that my audience would be diverse, coming from different time periods and aspects of my life, I included only that which was pertinent to my overall theme: reconciliation.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. --Romans 3:23
We all have a story to tell. And if you have found salvation through Jesus, completely restoring your relationship with God, you have a past that likely contradicts your present. We all have deficiencies, sinful cravings, skeletons in the closet, etc. . .A true Bible reading, Bible following Christian acknowledges this fact, and then strives to not be controlled by said deficiencies, cravings, skeletons, etc. Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk becomes the theme for our faith and love.
But a turning point must be made. A decision to follow, or not to follow, has to be made.
I chose to follow Jesus. To risk being called religious, prudish, goody-two-shoes, Jesus-freak, ignorant, Bible thumping, narrow-minded. . . the list goes on and on. . .
In writing my story, I realize that my life was and is not about me. I am not the only one involved in my own story. Everywhere I was, I had people around me that were affected by my presence. Some of these people don't speak to me anymore, as my bad decisions affected them negatively. Some of these people are still great friends, ones who I have spent an entire lifetime knowing.
But I only have one person in mind: my mother. As my story revolved around reconciliation and how my restored relationship with God calmed my soul and set me on the right path, I had to start at the beginning to paint a picture of the psychology behind my wildness. The environment in which you are raised has an important impact on what kind of person you become.
I realize that my story involved my mother's story. She actually read my blog and commented on Facebook. She wants to tell her own story, not have others read it through me.
So I am writing this addendum to just say this:
My mother has, in my opinion, a fascinating story of reconciliation. I don't exactly know it all, but I can tell you that the woman in my story is a completely different woman now. Just as my life was spiraling out of control until I let God take the wheel, I think her life was flailing in the dark until Jesus shone a light for her to follow.
The light is what has restored our relationship, mine and hers. There's plenty of room for improvement, but I would say that I am now very blessed to have her around. She came to my aide after the births of my 5 babies, staying in uncomfortable apartments and cooking and cleaning so much that I would fight panic when it was time for her to go home. We have, as of late, been sharing common interests in Pride and Prejudice type movies, Bible-teaching books and various Christian fiction. We sit for hours at the kitchen table talking and discussing. And she has, more than once, said to "Pray about it."
Reconciliation. I had to share unpleasant details about my childhood, making the mention of a mother unavoidable. But based on the Scripture I posted at the beginning of this entry, we can say that the woman in my story is no longer in existence. My "happily ever after" involves a woman who has reconciled with God and has a restored relationship with Him who takes care of us both.
Praise be to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. . .--Ephesians 1:3
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