The Narrow Roads

I was folding my laundry one day while my husband was watching, “Everybody Loves Raymond”. It’s not a usual show he watches, but with his dementia, some days he doesn’t have the brain capacity to change the channel. Raymond had to give a toast and if anyone has ever watched the show, you know there is a lot of drama that goes along with each family event. His mom is overbearing and his dad is unfiltered. In his toast he said something about editing out all the bad stuff and just remember the good stuff. I thought, that’s a pretty good blog post. I liked how he was saying that we could focus on all the bad stuff, but with the bad stuff comes the good stuff. So, today I was sitting down to do my Sunday School lesson and I saw this title in my notebook where I jot down blog post ideas and thought, this would be a good Sunday school lesson. When I finished with the lesson, I decided not to wait to write this blog, especially since its all fresh in my head. So here it goes!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old one has gone. When we come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we leave an old life behind and start a new life with Christ. We are forgiven and we are now in a relationship with Jesus. That’s a beautiful part of our story. Coming to Christ doesn’t mean life gets easy and all bad goes away. The enemy doesn’t go away because we come to Jesus. Several months ago, I was praying for someone who was having a rough time, and while praying for her, the Holy Spirit kept telling me that she needed a reset. When I told her that, she said that’s exactly what she needed. She needed to be able to move forward and edit out some stuff that was bringing her down, a reset. I don’t think any of us can say we have never needed a reset. Sometimes I need a reset every day. I think we all can say we have had days that if we could edit out some bad stuff, we would. We actually can edit some stuff out.

Sometimes we think if we could just forget about the sins we have committed and not keep going back to that place where we remember that sin, we would. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. God doesn’t want you to remember the shame of that sin. He wants you to walk away from your sins and remember not to go back to that life. When we repent, he lets our sins go and frees us from those sins and that means we don’t have to dwell on those sins and live a life of shame. Edit it out! Edit out how that sin drug you down, edit out the shame you felt in that sin, but don’t edit out how God saved you from that sin. We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). Edit out the bad stuff, rewrite your story.

Then there are the parts of our story that wrecks us and changes us. The things that happen in our lives that are out of our control. When a loved one dies, when a loved one gets sick, when a child walks away, when a spouse leaves you, when finances overwhelm you and the list goes on. The stuff that you won’t forget (and God doesn’t expect you to). You can’t edit that out and I don’t believe you should. Sometimes we go through things and we learn to lean on God more or we learn to let go and sometimes there may not even be a lesson other than surrender. That’s a hard lesson, surrender. It’s hard to say, “God this is Yours, I can’t do it so I surrender it to you.” If you have done that, don’t edit that out, that’s part of your redemption story.

There are some things I want to edit out of my story, but I know that I need to use these things to help others. One thing I am learning to edit out though, is the part of my story where I walked in unforgiveness and hate when I was sinned against. I don’t have to forget what someone did to me, but I can edit out the part where I got hurt deeply and how I am doing that is, healing from the hurt and trauma. Not dwelling on it but seeking healing from it. Editing out the part where I played the victim and writing in the part where I got victory over it. That’s the part I keep in. Not editing out how I started walking out of that trauma, but editing out sitting in that trauma and letting it define who I am. I won’t forget it and it will be part of my story, because that’s where I had the most amazing experience with Jesus. I am just going to edit out the part where the enemy told me lies. Satan doesn’t get to be part of my story, Jesus does.

No one gets to write your story, and no one gets to edit your story. Only you can do that. Do you want to keep in your story your sins and shame or do you want to edit that out, because you can. Do you want to keep the hurt and unforgiveness in your story or do you want to edit that out and forgive and walk in freedom of the ones who hurt you? You have a choice what you keep in your story. Don’t edit out everything though. There are many who have lost loved ones and the pain of that is beyond what anyone could imagine. That’s part of your story and God knows you will carry that pain for the rest of your life. Also, don’t edit out parts of your story that can help others. When we walk through pain, we often times feel alone, and your story could encourage someone to take the next step forward and not feel so alone.

In closing I want to encourage you to write your story and let go of the things God doesn’t want you to hold on to. You can only edit out the wounds God healed from. Choosing to shove it down isn’t editing it out. You can’t edit out what you won’t let God have. Fosus on what you still have and not what’s been taken from you. Edit out the bad stuff you don’t want to define you and keep in the good stuff that makes you the beautiful creation that you are! Again, thank you for reading my blog. Share with me in the comments your thoughts. As always, be gentle because I am not an experienced writer 🙂

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”