When Lot was commanded to take his family and flee Sodom, he was told that none should look back. It had been difficult to live in such a wicked place, and finally he and his loved ones would be safe. But they were commanded by the Lord to not look back.
We have troubles in our past that have hurt us. Some have left deep scars. We may have some trouble dealing with present issues because of the past pains that haunt us. These things are hard to recover from, but healing is possible.
When we look back on our past troubles and drown ourselves in bad memories, we allow the past to control us. When we do this, we invite old situations and people who inflicted harm on us to continue to have power over us in the present. When we look back, we forget that we now have the power over ourselves, our decisions, and our futures. Your only “baggage” should be the good memories from your positive experiences and the lessons you have learned from your negative ones.
If you have not yet escaped the circumstances that oppress you, I invite you to make the changes you need to begin to heal. Work out what your problems are and that causes them. You may find that it is your work environment, the place you live, or the people you associate with that you need to exclude from your life. New jobs can be found. New living situations can be established. Ties can be cut. It is especially hard when you are a minor and cannot yet sever abusive ties, but in the meantime you can still observe what it is that you do not want to become and practice making the choices now that will lead you down the road you want to be on. Once you are away from whatever negative influences were hurting you, do not look back. Do not tell the people who abused you how to find you. It may be right to leave them with an email address in case a relative dies, but no physical addresses, phone numbers, or social media should be exchanged. When they are out of your life, looking back only opens a door to let your past back in.
We have the power to change ourselves, heal, and grow. We have the power to decide not to let past influences bring us down. We have the power–not them–to decide that we will invite positivity into our lives, reject negativity, and be the kind of people we were always meant to be. No longer will we be controlled. No longer will we accept abuse. No longer will we hide from the past under blankets of vice. Where we once may have been weak, we will be strong. Where once we were scared, we now can be fearless. Where there was once self-hatred, we can forgive and learn to love ourselves. No more will we look back and be destroyed as Lot’s wife by the horrors of what is behind us. We can choose to keep our eyes trained on the future and on the brightness we may find there. We have the power to choose the beauty in life’s garden over the thorns that we have known for too long and never look back. When we leave our biggest thorns behind, we can focus on the blooms to come.
Roses in My Thornbush 