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The third lethal obstacle is damage from the past. This one usually lurks in the area of our self-esteem and self-confidence, and can strip us of our ability to deal with daily life, let alone believe in something greater. If this is you, my heart is filled with compassion for you. Life knocks the wind out of all of us at some point. When that day comes, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Will we toss up our hands in defeat and spend the rest of our lives broken, or will we get right back on the horse and ride again? The decision we make after life has been too hard for too long bears an eternal impact on our destiny. People can fall into different mindsets without even meaning to. Some are able to take stock, reassess, and move on. Others stay stuck, frozen in time. And a few use the time as a springboard to go on and make an impact on the world they never would have been able to achieve if life had always been easy for them. The way out of negative mindsets begins with taking time to be with God, to get our bearings and our perspective back, to lay our burdens at Great Spirit’s feet, and rather than asking “why?” decide to live into “why not?!”
Why not, regardless of whatever we have gone through before, try again? Why not, love again? Why not, dream again, hope again, believe again, contribute again? Why not strive to create an abundantly blessed life? Why not, indeed! It is my fervent hope for you that you will take this opportunity to regain your own center and formulate a plan for the next phase of your life. Growth is never easy, and overcoming tragedy can be excruciating. But remember that you’re still standing after everything that led you to this blog series, so there is still plenty of hope you can turn your situation around.
The fourth hazard is the tyranny of “but I already tried this and it failed last time.” You took a road trip and ended up at a dead end. You drove back home, hanging your head in embarrassment or shaking it in frustration. The good news is that you already know how to get started. Perhaps the last time your road map wasn’t very clear, support was lacking, or too much got in the way, and the delay looked permanent. Perhaps you’re still facing struggles from the past, that only let you drive the car so far or so fast. It could be that last time the idea was right, but the timing was wrong. That’s ok. Analyze what went wrong, chart a new course, and get moving again. You need less convincing than anyone else of the wisdom of the trip.
Until next time, I’ll be praying for you to let the past go and commit to creating the beauty of your own future. You got this!
