We just celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, and now it is time to say goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019. But the question is: What old baggage are you dragging with you into the New Year? What regrets, mistakes, failures, hurts, or losses do you need to say goodbye to, let go of, so you can embrace the future?
Years ago I asked a friend how she felt now that she was getting old. I’ll never forget her answer: “Judith, I have discovered that life is a series of hellos and goodbyes. So I have learned that, if I say my goodbyes well, I am ready to welcome the new as it comes. Then when I come to my final goodbye, I will be free to go, with no regrets.”
Remember Lot’s wife?
Instructed by angels to flee from their city and not look back, Lot took his wife and fled. But she looked back and became a pillar of salt. Perhaps it was difficult for her to say goodbye to her way of life. As a former nurse, I wonder what happens to our bio-chemistry when we cling to the past, and will not say goodbye to the way things were.
The past affects our present
Research studies have found that our past affects our present and will likely continue to do so until it is brought to a place of peace. The subconscious, which comprises 90% of the mind, is the storehouse for everything that has ever happened to us.
Unresolved experiences are stored as they were perceived. Guilt, fear, pain, and anger embedded in these memories continue to influence our emotional lives and our bodies today.
Clinging to the past
Countless people have shared with me the baggage they hold on to: an old love, lies they’ve told, an inheritance they didn’t get; bad choices they made; lost health, jobs, money; betrayal, secrets; broken relationships, families, marriages—and hearts.
One woman said, “There’s never been a day in my life when I’ve not thought about how that man deceived me.” Loaded with hurt and anger, she lived in a state of negativity.
Perhaps we think that by holding on to something—the way things were, our failures and mistakes, our hurts and losses—we can fix it, we can atone for it, we can make everything all right again. We can’t.
Miraculous power of acceptance
Renowned Swiss physician Paul Tournier wrote, “From the miracles that are wrought through acceptance, it can be seen that spiritual strength is the greatest strength in the world. … It alone can ensure victory over the negative forces of selfishness, hate, fear, and disorder, which destroy peoples and undermine the health of individuals. It alone gives the joy, energy, and zeal needed in the battle for life and for the defense of health.
“However acceptance of one’s life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. It means accepting it as it comes… Acceptance is saying an active yes to life, an ability to affirm life as a response of one’s total personality.” (The Healing of Persons)
“Give me something from your purse”
In a dream, I am sitting in a meeting, and the offering basket is being passed. An unseen voice says, “Give me something from your purse.” Looking in my purse, I find only a needle & thread and a magnifying glass. I put them in the basket.
At the time, I was troubled over the loss of a friendship. I wanted to save it. Because of my dream, I didn’t. Instead, I accepted the loss and surrendered it to God. I didn’t try to mend it (needle & thread), nor focus my attention on it (magnifying glass).
What do you need to make peace with?
- Who do you need to say goodbye to?
- What do you need to accept?
- What regrets or failures do you need to let go?
- Who do you need to forgive? Yourself?
Look up to God
God has given us everything we need to make peace with our past. He has given us His Son so we can let go of our heavy baggage. And He has provided us with the comforter, the Holy Spirit.
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me … and you shall find rest for your souls. – Matt 11:28-30
Through the blood of Christ, He has provided a way for us to resolve the debts we cannot pay. We no longer need to lug around anger or a guilty conscience. Forgiveness helps us to make peace with our past.
Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. – Col 1:20
Look up to God and cry out for His grace. Stop fighting whatever situation you are stuck in and surrender it to Him.
Happy New Year friends!