Forgetting What Is Behind

     Some old feelings of guilt and condemnation raised their ugly head this week. Early this morning as I frosted the boys' birthday cakes, tears filled my eyes as I re-lived my failure. 

     Then at church, our pastor pulled a brick out of a backpack with the word failure on it. And there I was again with tears in my eyes. 

     And then he said, "Jesus can use even your mistakes to write a really incredible story in your life." 

     It's true. From the ugliness of my sin and failure, He gave me a precious treasure. And I get to watch God write two incredible stories. 

     As I leave condemnation behind and strain forward to what God has next for me in my story, those guilty feelings fade away-replaced with thankfulness and joy. 

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”

~Philippians 3:13