Some Dance to Remember,
Some dance to forget *
Remember the Good Things
Forgetting
what lies behind ....
I
have struggled with that verse, and with the next part about straining
to that which lies ahead.
(Philippians
3:13)
How
does one let go of the past pains to prevent them from staining the
future?
And
how do I keep those block-buster God moments on my forehead for the
next time when the dark thoughts weigh heavy? What does joyful anticipation look like?
-I
can clearly see that I have not quite taken hold of this either.
but
one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead...
(Amplified)
～
～ ～～～
～ ～～～
～ ～～～
～ ～～～
～ ～～
Dominique is a young Afrikaans woman I
met while working as a nurse in a drug rehab clinic in Western
Australia. Her childhood tale of sexual abuse, parental neglect, self
harm and addiction tore my hear in two. So much trauma had been done
to her as a child, I wondered if she could ever make it.
Her and I met for our first coffee in
the fall of 2009, shortly before her 34th birthday. The
founder of the clinic asked if I could spend some time with her. That
short walk to the local coffee shop began a most challenging and
fulfilling relationship. Initially, I thought I could help her, fix
her, evangelize her ... and after two years I realized that what was
most important, was just to love her. She had been a project for
enough people.
Bit by bit, she let out pieces of her story ... how
she found her mother on the floor after an overdose ... How her uncle
had taken her and her sister to a black township, where she had seen
a man doused with gasoline, then lit. How she could still vividly
recall her uncle in her bedroom ... her heart pounding with fear ...
the footsteps of her mother coming towards the door, surely to her
rescue ... only to hear the pause and the sound of those same
footsteps retreat. And in that moment, the reality that she knew that
she knew.
She despised her own life of addiction,
and I wish I could say that Christ has miraculously healed her, but
it has not happened yet. Various psychologists, therapists,
Christians and psychiatrists have analyzed, scrutinized and
project-size disappointed her.
So I struggle as I read Philippians
3:13 &14, about letting go of the past and pressing on to the
goal of knowing the prize. How can she forget and strive for what lies ahead when there is no earthly reason to
believe it will be any better than the horror that has kept her awake at
night for years? And how do I encourage and love my friend who doesn't fully
understand the True Prize? Often I feel that my own uncertainties
make me a strange guide, and yet I know that it is because of my own questions that we connect.
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" ...
The pink champagne on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device" ...
“You can check-out any time you
like,
But you can never leave! " *
But you can never leave! " *
And I pray as I think of Dominique as
she drug dances to forget.
* song lyrics from
Hotel California released by The
Eagles, Feb 1977 ...
Although people have interpreted the
song in many ways apparently,
In the 2013 documentary History
of the Eagles, Henley said that the song was about "a
journey from innocence to experience...that's all".[2]
From Wikipedia
Jocelyn blogs at: http://whoistalking.wordpress.com
Honest questions to pose, Jocelyn. I too am walking alongside someone with explicit instructions from the Lord to love, not fix. You're word allow me to accept that my questions are valid in the earthly realm, but a wonderful reminder that more may be happening in the spiritual realm than I can see.
ReplyDeleteI am encouraged. Thank you.
Bobbi
What a tragic story - and much too common I am afraid. I appreciated the way you took those words from the Eagle's song and interpreted them in such a meaningful way. The truth of those words has even more power when put into this context, but thanks be to God he can heal ALL wounds in His time and in His way.
ReplyDeleteHi Jocelyn. Thanks for writing this. I've often found scripture verses hard to fathom in the light of so much pain around us..including pain in my own life as a child and pain watching my sister struggle (she ended her life)...sometimes there really are no easy answers and it causes more harm then good to try to give them, scripture or not. You put the struggle into words perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your honestly! We need to meet people where they are at on their journey or pain. We can't fix them, only God can truly heal. But we can love them and point the signpost to Jesus. Hopefully they will see Christ in us .
ReplyDelete