don't look back with longing.

Words spoken over lunch the other day continue to echo in my ears. They were carefully chosen words: "don't look back with longing," articulated by a woman of great character and wisdom. She was speaking them to another friend who was leaving to start a new chapter in her life in another state. But as those words were expressed, I felt as if they may as well have been intended for me.

I have relocated a good number of times in my life – from one neighborhood to another, from one city to the next, from state to state, country to country, and once even to a place half way across the world. It is precisely because of those experiences that I took those five words to heart.

I made a mental note of how she didn't just say 'don't look back.' Her emphasis was placed on 'with longing.'

In so doing, she acknowledged that it is not in our looking back that we find ourselves stifled in our growth and living in the present. For me, it helped validate that in considering my past, I am able to reflect on the extent of all that has already taken place - the good and the bad, the difficult, the scary, the victories, the love and so much more - and remember God's faithfulness and how He had His hand in everything, even if I didn't know it at the time. I am also able to see how far I've come, which, I must admit, in more ways than one, is a whole lot farther than I ever thought I'd be able to go. Courage to face the present can't help but be stirred up within, knowing that God has been with me and has loved me with every step leading to where I am today.

But if I look back at what I've experienced, where I've been or who I used to be, with desire to relive those days, or to have things the way they used to be, I know I would never be able to maximize what the present offers. Nor would I be able look forward to the adventure of the future.

So while I may occasionally remember the past, as is often so easy to do, I know that I would never want to stay there. The past isn't where I'm meant to be. Right here, where I am right now, is right where God intended. My sights are set on making the most of today and hoping for the very best in what is yet to come.