Mrs. Sweetie and I saw “Cats” on Broadway last week. Ok, it wasn’t really on Broadway, but it was a Broadway quality performance in the beautiful Opal Theater on the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship, where we shared 7 days with about 6,000 of our closest friends.
We made some great memories on this eastern Caribbean voyage and hope to be able to do it again—without the 20 year gap that happened between our previous cruise and this one.
“Cats” was visually stunning, with spectacular dancing, but I can now say I have been there and done that. I am a musical theater lover, but I now know why there is only one well-known song from “Cats.” It is really the only memorable one.
Speaking of memorable, the song is “Memory.” A few of the lyrics:
Memory; turn your face to the moonlight. Let your memory lead you. Open up, enter in. If you find there the meaning of what happiness is, then a new life will begin.
Memory; all alone in the moonlight, I can smile at the old days. I was beautiful then. I remember a time I knew what happiness was. Let the memory live again.
Memory is a wonderful gift. It can also be a trap if we don’t know how to properly deal with the past. As I have pondered this over the past few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that we have at least three choices.
- We can be controlled by the past. We do that when we are bogged down with regrets, guilt, and shame over our failures. We do that when we live by memory (the “good old days”) rather than by vision. We do that when we are consumed with unforgiveness and grudges. Longtime pastor and author Jack Hayford says, “Never hold grudges; they shed horribly.”
- We can be informed by the past. We do that when we intentionally draw life lessons from both mistakes and successes—ours and those of others. If you are a person of faith, there is also the added dimension of remembering the activity of God and reflecting on how He guided, provided and protected you (even when you couldn’t see it at the time).
- We can take control of the past. Yes, you read that right. Being controlled or being informed are largely passive pursuits. One is more positive than the other, and some intentionality is required, but it is still about what happens to you. Taking control is actively choosing to do something about the past. Choose to focus less on why something happened and more on what it makes possible. Choose to forgive. Choose to respond with grace. Choose to use the past as a launching pad into what is next. It is much easier to drive while looking through the windshield than it is while looking in the rearview mirror.
Our lives matter to God. Past. Present. Future.
What will you do with the past, starting today?
