In the Rear-View Mirror

One hot fall afternoon, I came out to my car after work to see that my rear-view mirror had fallen off the dashboard of my Chevy. 

I had never encountered that before in my 40-something years, and I slowly drove out of the parking lot.  I held the steering wheel in my left hand while holding up the rear-view mirror so that it was still somewhat usable in my right.

As a single female, having car problems is not my favorite surprise, but I have learned that G-d is well able to take care of me as I listen and trust and lean on Him for help and counsel and favor.  I was talking to G-d about the situation, asking Him where I should go to get some advice with this problem.... a gas station??...an auto parts store??... the Chevy dealership??... my auto-mechanic??... Wal-mart??  I really didn't know what the next step was, so I was asking and listening.

But G-d wanted to talk about something else.   

I turned the corner onto Bellaire, heading towards home, and I felt like He said, "What does a rear-view mirror do?"

I replied, "It shows me what is behind me."

"Why is that helpful?"

"It helps me drive safely, noticing if someone is too close."

"Yes.  How long do you look in the rear view when you look?"

"Oh, just a quick glance, not for very long."

"That's right.  Why do you look only for a quick glance?"

"Because I could get in trouble if I looked back  for too long.  I could make a mistake in the traffic ahead of me."

"Yes. That's right.  You can get in trouble if you look back for too long, if you look at your past for too long.  The motivation for looking back in the past is simply to "drive safely"  in the present.    You can glance back for a quick check if you need to, but don't linger there or you will get in trouble and make mistakes in the now."  

    Those were words full of graciousness and life for me.  Sometimes it is easy to remember the foolish things we have done, the mistakes we made that were costly.  It's one thing to remember them, and another to struggle with sorrow and regret over them  when they are in the past.   It is also tempting to live in past happy memories instead of enjoying and appreciating the now. 

 Don't we all know people who are still bound up in their past, whether pleasant or painful?  In Isaiah 53, we see that the Servant of the L-rd is described as

There is no need for you to carry that which He has already carried for you.  Cast the weight and burden and mistakes of the past on Him.  His shoulders are big enough to bear it, and yours aren't.  There is great peace and rest in giving  burdens-- past, future, and present-- to Him. 

G-d is the "I Am."  He can heal the hurts of the past as well as give  truth and insight which sets us free.  

Side note: Who besides the G-d of Israel promises to heal the broken-hearted or to redeem us from whatever kind of slavery or to use our failures for good, both for us and for others?  No offense, but no other faith tradition comes even close to promising to people what King of the Universe says He will do for those who put their  trust in Him.  Ad-nai says over and over that He is concerned about our hurts and is our Healer, the only Wise G-d.

 In this moment, He is there with you, looking at you, listening to the quiet thoughts of your heart.  It is your choice whether to enjoy sitting with Him now or to be busy in the past or the  future in your thoughts. 

the past       the past        the past       the past      the past       the past       the past        the past

 Once a mistake has been repented of, set right as much as it can be from our  side, and our hearts have become open to godly sorrow which helps us become wiser about how to choose better boundaries and actions, then it is a trap to gaze into the rear-view mirror.   

"...the pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow G-d wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For G-d can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. [Him] We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. 11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves [Beseder's note: from being part of that mistake or sin again], such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness....You showed that you have done everything you could to make things right." (1 Corinthians 7:9-11 NLT)

I continued driving until I got to my mechanic, and he helped me with information about how to fix it.  Within about a half an hour, the rear-view mirror was again mounted on the glass, but the lesson I had learned remains an important memorial to me. 

 G-d gives us the past so that we can learn healthy lessons about how to live in the present.  Remember when you drive somewhere today just what a rear-view mirror is for and how to use it appropriately. 

May the L-rd bless you as journey together in the present.  Look back when it's necessary, but only long enough so that you can drive safely in the now.  :) 

    (You know, there's a reason why it's called The Present.)

Shalom b'Yeshua!

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© P Carnie, February 2003

Last update: 07/19/2005