Strength and determination. Somewhere along my colorful journey, filled with ups and downs, I felt as if I misplaced my ownership of the two. As a child, I had a great imagination, but I never imagined growing up and experiencing such pain, the way my life has seen. No child can see the future and predict the paths to avoid in life, but one thing I realized, looking back into my childhood, I overcame great odds.

Well, enough of my past, I've reflected enough. I chose to live for today, and forgive yesterday. I see so many people in pain. For some, they're reflecting too much on the past. Your past will hold you hostage, alter your future and hinder your blessings from God.

In Genesis 6, the past sins from the beginning of time, caused great turmoil in that day. "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become..." (Gen. 6:5, NIV) People were doing everything. "If it feels good, do it," was their motto. Not realizing they were planning their future in the flood. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, and God gave him great instructions for his future. Noah obeyed God, without excuses or complaints. I've been guilty of those things, but remember, I'm leaving the past behind me!

God instructed Noah to build an ark, because He was going to destroy everything He created, and He did. Every person and animal was destroyed through the heavy rain, all except Noah and his family. The past of those killed were destroyed. Even Noah's past was destroyed, but God had a bright future planned for Noah and his family.

After the floodwater subsided, Noah and his family were on solid ground. God blessed them and made a covenant with them. "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Gen. 9:13, NIV) Meaning, never again will God destroy the earth with rain. His rainbow promised that. Remember what was destroyed in the flood, their past!

Looking into the painful events in my life made me realize one thing, there's no need for me to be there any longer. Memories of my past are slight photographic slide shows of gray skies, or bright rainbows. I choose to see the sun shining in my past, despite the rainy days. Like Noah, I choose to search for dry ground, instead of wading in high waters. If you're not careful, you could drown.

No matter what you've been through, God was always there with you. Your life may not seem fair, but God is always there. When we make decisions based on our hurt or frustrations, we began to live a destructive life, that ends in painful consequences.

Once I had a friend, who went through a few obstacles in her life. She became promiscuous, and later became a prostitute. At a young age, her final journey led to death. Please don't live in yesterdays pain. You have your past to lose, and everything in your future to gain. It's not too late!

We have a choice today to live beyond our past, and stretch forth into a new future. The same strength I had as a child, is an even greater strength now, because Jesus lives inside me. It's all by choice! I choose to forgive, and move on, leaving the broken past behind me.

You may have accepted your past as part of your future, but it doesn't have to be! You can reflect on the rainbows in your life, and not the rain in the flood. Knowing God is with us, gives us confidence to reach for anything. I'm telling you, you can never go back and change a thing, but you can make changes for your future. I see possibilities in my life, I never saw before. Reflect on this: God loves you and He always will! Accepting His love makes His light shine a path for a great future.

Make a decision to change and leave your past in the past. Paint a beautiful picture in your mind of things you've always dreamed of and do it. Don't let anything stop you! Your true value, identity and beauty is in Jesus Christ. He didn't look back on the cross, He looked forward, to a bright and resilient future with you.

(resilience = The ability to recover from a shock without permanent after effects) Webster's Dictionary 1997