SHUT THE DOOR

I have a friend that is so emersed in the past; particularly of the things in her past that have hurt her emotionally, that she cannot let the past go and move on to a quieter, more blissful and happier future.

I remember reading a story about two men. They were engaged in a deep conversation as they walked down a country road. Deciding to take a shortcut home, they passed through a field where a number of cattle were grazing.

When the men reached the other side of the pasture, they were still so engrossed in conversation that they forgot to shut the gate behind them. A few minutes later one of them noticed the oversight and ran back to close the gate before any of the cattle could escape.

As he did, he remembered what an old friend had said to his sons and daughters in the last minute of his life. He summoned all his children to his bedside and gave them this wise counsel: "As you travel down life's pathway, remember to close the gates behind you."

What he meant, of course, is that although we will experience problems, difficult situations, heartbreaks, and failures, we must put these incidences behind us. Past deeds or painful memories need not dog our steps for the rest of our lives.

There is an old saying: "When one door closes, another opens, but we often look so long and so regretful upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."

This also reminds me of a great poem written by Vivian Larmore that wonderfully describes the meaning of letting go of the past:

"I've shut the door on yesterday, it's sorrows and mistakes;
I've locked within its gloomy walls, past failures and heartaches.
And now I throw the key away, to seek another room,
And furnish it with hopes and smiles, and every springtime bloom.
No thought shall enter this abode, that has a hint of pain,
And envy, malice and distrust, shall ever entrance gain.
I've shut the door on yesterday, and thrown the key away,
Tomorrow holds no fears for me, since I have found today."

It is a good thing to remember the past so that we may learn from it. But, to live in fear of our past will hold us back from the happiness of today. When it comes to the pain and failures of the past, let's always remember to close the gate.

To live in shame or fear of the past is also self-hypocrisy. It has well been said that the most important part of a person’s life is the part that only God sees. When reputation becomes more important than God, we have become our own worst hypocrite.

No matter what has happened in your past, each morning when you arise from your slumber, you have an opportunity to start life all over again.

Yesterday is gone forever and you cannot change it no matter how much you would like to. Tomorrow depends on what you do today for it is yet to come and, like a sculptor, you have the opportunity to shape tomorrow into whatever you want it to be.

From the moment you awaken, you can be a slave to the events of the past, or you can cast off the chains of yesterday and boldly shout out, "Today, I am a new person!"
So let it be written, so let it be done!