Learn from the Past, but Live in the Present

Last week in Florida I visited the oldest city in America, St. Augustine, Florida. Buildings that are there and are being preserved get to be the oldest in America. Of course, with American ingenuity, they call it a museum and charge people money to see it. The oldest fort is now a National Park in St. Augustine and tourists traipse through it viewing the old cannons and the walls and hollows in the walls in which the soldiers lived. It’s one thing to look, remember, and learn from the past. It’s another thing to live in the past.

Last week I spent time in my hometown, Daytona Beach. I don’t have any grievances toward the city at all, but it’s in my past. I have changed and grown since my days there and now, I’m just one of the many tourists that visit there. It’s good to look back to see where you’ve been in order to use it as a guide for where you are going. It’s not ever good to desire or to live in the past.

My pastor always tells us to live in the present to make the future better. He’s correct. We have to learn from our past, from both the accomplishments and the mistakes, but we cannot live there. If we live in the past, we cannot move forward. We can only visit it and remember who we have become.

One of my favorite television shows is Cobra Kai. One of the characters, Johnny Lawrence, continues to live life as if it is 1985. It’s funny to hear what he says when he learns something new. He is frightened of the new. He even throws it away, but it’s only in the new that we can truly live.

As a Christian, we cannot linger in the past. We cannot tarry over our sins or mistakes or flaws. We have to repent and move forward. We have to forgive and learn from that incident and move forward. If we don’t, we get stuck. Then we get angry, which can lead to depression and constant whining. We’ve all done it. We all must remember to move forward.

It wasn’t easier “back in the day.” It was just more convenient. It was convenient to hide who we really are. Today, thanks to modern technology, it’s difficult to hide. Back in the day, we made mistakes and had lots of issues. We just have different mistakes and issues today. We must learn and grow every day.

Going back home was a good experience. You cannot relive the memories. You need to make new memories with family and friends. Our society would be a much better place if we would just step up and begin to live in the present and work for a better future.