If only you could smell this photo you would instantly crave an orange. This is a photo of my mom's orange tree out in Arizona. Orange blossoms smell like heaven. In March out in Arizona, the smell of orange blossoms fill the air. It's a wonderful smell, unless you are allergic to the fragrance. I can't imagine how sad I'd be if I couldn't smell these wonderful blossoms. I love the smell. Is there a certain smell that takes you back in your memory bank to a certain place and time? Hopefully a good memory? How about the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven that reminds you of mom? Maybe it's the scent of pine trees that reminds you that Christmas is near? Maybe it's the smell of someone's perfume that reminds you of a dear grandma? Smells can be a trigger to bring back memories for me.
Also certain smells can trigger a warning signal in my heart. Like a flashing red light warning me to stop, a smell can give me a flashback, a memory that I don't want to remember. Ever have those? I know I'm not the only one, at least I don't think I am. Why are some memories so hard to relive? Can't we just bury them and never deal with them? Can't we hide them away under a bushel basket and never go there again? While that is the easy way to do it, the truth is that sooner or later those painful memories will return if we do not deal with them and learn from them and then let them go. If we don't deal with them and accept the pain they caused us, we will never learn from them and we won't be able to let them go. They will be like a splinter in our finger that will keep festering until we deal with it. The past can infect our future in ways we could never imagine.
Life is a journey with good memories and bad. While we may do our best to try to shield ourselves and our family members from the bad, we can't. Bad things happen to good people. It's a fact of life. God never promised us a problem free life. What's the old song? "I never promised you a rose garden along with the sunshine, there has to be a little rain sometime?" Think about it for a moment. How beautiful is a rose? That is until you grab it and realize there are thorns attached to that gorgeous flower. Without rain, a rose will not grow, without the thorns the rose is not protected from predators'. We have to deal with the thorns, we need to deal with the past. While we can't live in the past, we must deal with it, learn from it and then let it go.
There is true beauty that can grow from the ashes of our past. There is true peace that can come from learning from our past. There are so many lessons I have learned from dealing with my past. By dealing with my past, Jesus Christ has redeemed me and allowed me to heal from the pain of my past. It's only through His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness and His unfailing love that I have been able to move on from my past. I am not my past, but my past has taught me well. I am redeemed through the saving blood of Jesus Christ and my past has been forgiven and healed. Join me in allowing Jesus Christ to turn your past into a present.
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