I am really not the best driver.  I don’t drive too cautiously, I drive on the speedy side.  Ask my kids…they will tell you that I am a “crazy driver.”  I think my mom almost had a heart attack the other day as I entered our garage and was about an inch from hitting the fridge.  There is a fridge in our garage…I didn’t go through a wall to the kitchen or anything…at least not yet!  Oh, also, please do not ask me why I am doing community service.  Yes, I am working on my driving, and yes, I know it is bad, but it could be worse…I could be spending time looking in my rearview mirror while I am driving.  That would really cause me some headaches,and maybe some injuries, to me and others.  Of course, it makes no sense to look behind you when you are driving.  The result would be horrendous.  So, why do we choose to look behind us in our lives?  I’m sorry, I am not assuming that you do this.  I do, and the results are just as dangerous as driving in a car and looking in the rearview mirrors.

As I go throughout my day, I think about things that have happened in the past that I wish I could change.  I wish I could go back and make different choices.  However, as I look longingly in my rearview life mirror, I miss out on what is now going on.  There is a lot of good stuff going on that I miss out on if I look back.  There is nothing I can do about what is behind me.  It is gone.  Thinking about it isn’t going to change my bad choices.  All it is going to do is cause me pain, anger, sadness, and bitterness.  As I look behind me, I can’t see what is going on now.  I can’t see anything ahead of me, either.  I am just stuck.  I’m stuck where Satan wants me to be.  Looking back on my misery only causes misery and robs me of the joy that God wants me to have RIGHT NOW.  That’s right…looking back while driving is hazardous to your health and so is looking back on all of the yuck.  If you choose not to look in front of you, you might just miss how He has changed the “yuck “from behind to the “yum” that is happening right now.  Make this the day you choose to look in front of you, and not behind.  Now, don’t look too far ahead of you..that’s for a different blog!

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.”

Proverbs 4;25

I recently heard the story about  a gal who was driving home from college, I believe.  It was a long trip, so she decided to stop at a truck stop to use the bathroom.  She was in a hurry, as she wanted to get back on the road.  After she was finished, she flushed the toilet.  As she turned around, she saw her keys swirling down into the deep, dark, depths of the potty.  She couldn’t grab them…it was too late.  The keys were gone.  She knew she had to tell someone, so she approached a woman at the cash register.  As this young gal told her story of how she lost her keys, the lady at the register said she would get someone to help.  So, she announced over the loud speaker, with laughter, “I need maintenance to the ladies room,  to retrieve some lost keys!” The entire dining area heard the message, and I can just imagine all of the talking and giggling went on.  The young gal took it all in stride, as she admitted that she, too, would laugh about this someday!   The maintenance man could not get the keys, but not all was lost.    The flushing of the keys blessed two older gals so much that they told the young gal who lost her keys, “We almost didn’t stop at this truck stop.”  They went on to explain that they were glad they did because the story of the flushed keys made their day, and made them laugh!

This story made me think about experiences that happen in our lives.  Sometimes we make choices that we regret.  Sometimes we are put in painful situations that we don’t want to be in.  Sometimes we want to take these experiences and choices and hide them.  We may not want others to know what we have been through.  We may want to forget the choices we have made.  However, these may be the very things that God wants us to use  to encourage or bless others.  God may have allowed a “flushing of the keys” in your life just to help someone else, or even to lead them to Christ.  Don’t be afraid to tell others about these experiences.  You don’t have to announce them over a loudspeaker, but God may put someone in your path that needs to hear what you have been through.

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”

Philippians 1:12