Diggin Up Bones

 I'm digging up bones

I'm digging up bones

Exhuming things that are better left alone

Digging Up Bones ~ Randy Travis 

The other day I found myself recalling some of the times I spent with my mother before she passed.  I do this from time to time despite the fact that she's been gone almost eight years now.  Some of the times were good, others not so much.  When I begin to think of her final days and the pain that she was in, I backtrack and think of what I might have done better to make her feel better.  I'm assuming that this is a normal reaction to someone who has passed away as well.  Yet, as I recall what the past hath wrought, I'm left with one conclusion.  It's over, let it be.  Part of our growing process is to examine those things which we have experienced in the past and to learn from them.  Some make good use of this while others do not.  As for myself, I've learned over time that I have never been alone in my life.  Despite the fact that I may at times feel this way, I've learned that I am in the Father and that He is always present in my life {Johns Account 14:20}.  It hasn't only been my memories of my mother which I have drug out from my memory, but also many of the bad choices which I have made, knowing I could have done better.  Again, experience is the best teacher.  I know that I am not alone in digging up the bones of past experiences, we all do this for different reasons.  Our memories can be both beneficial and detrimental.  Yet the underlying truth of our memories is that they represent what once was, not what will be.  Can we recall Jesus as He once was?  Perhaps, but we also recognize that Jesus is the same, He's never changed {To The Hebrews 13:8}.  The mainstream church is big on referring to us as sinners.  Listen to any pastor speak for very long and you're bound to hear the warnings of sin and how we need to repent from it.  Yet what many in the institutional church fail to recognize is that I'm not the guy I once was {Paul To The Romans 6:6}.  That I am a new creation in Christ {Paul To The Corinthians (2) 5:17}.  How can these two passages help us when we exhume the events of our past?  Because the past is gone and that which we have now is far better.  

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is grave, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is agreeable, whatever is renowned - if there is any virtue, and if any applause, be taking these into account. 

Paul To The Philippians 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

I have seen and heard many of the horror stories of those in the military returning from combat only to find that their war was not over.  When I was younger, I remember my uncle, a Vietnam veteran, walking the halls of the house in the late hours of the night unable to sleep.  Some recent data claims that on average, 17 military soldiers take their lives each day.  While this is a staggering number, consider the circumstances involved.  The military, by nature, exists to prepare those who volunteer to fight to defend themselves and their nation.  War is a ever present reality for all who join our nations armed forces.  When your time in the military is done and you're released once again into civilian life, that transition can be a tough pill to swallow for many.  Indeed, there are many who make the transition without a hitch, but there are also those who continue to fight the ghosts of the past.  The National Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C is visited by millions of people searching for the names of friends and loved ones who served.  Many trace the names of those they remember onto pieces of paper in memory those who have fallen.  I do not take this away from anyone, for it is a part of the grieving process.  But how do we know which of those old bones are good and which ones should remain buried in the past?  Well, I believe that any of those old memories which cause us pain and grief are better left alone.  I've made some pretty bad decisions in the past, but I DO NOT live with the memory of these instances.  I learned from them.  The most important thing I remember is that the old man I once was is dead.  What remains now is Christ {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  

Brethren, not as yet I am reckoning myself to have grasped, yet one thing - forgetting, indeed, those things which are behind, yet stretching out to those in front - toward the goal am I pursuing for the prize of God's calling above in Christ Jesus. 

Paul To The Philippians 3: 13-14, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~