Recently, I heard a wonderful explanation about the importance of vision. Do you know why the windshield of a car is so much larger than the rearview mirror? Because vision is more important than memories.
So many times we get caught in the pain and confusion of memories. Therapists make a living on our memories. Our journals contain page after page that relates to the past while our memoirs make sense out of the years we have lived.
We can learn much from the past, especially how to avoid repeating it. But if the past and its experiences create strongholds that hold us back from being all God created us to be – then we are in actuality traveling backwards. Our rearview mirrors have exchanged places with our windshields.
Psalm 71:17-18 reminds us to keep looking forward and keeping reaching out to the next group of memory-makers. “O God, you have taught me from my youth, and I still declare your wondrous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare your strength to this generation, your power to all who are to come.”
In order to reach the next generation with the power of Christ’s love, we have to have vision. We may be old and gray, but as long as God gives us breath – we can share the truth in love. We can still use our spiritual gifts, because God does not stamp them with an expiration date. We can experiment with new ways to reach out and not let tradition trap us in that rearview mirror.
Memories can be sweet, but vision propels us forward. And ultimately, it is vision that brings produces hope.
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