I Am Not My Past

Who are you? What do you represent? Do your words match your lifestyle? Do those that you acquaint yourself with fit a purpose in your life? Are you an accurate depiction of the person God called you to be?

Many times people are at a loss when it comes to their identity and who they truly are. This is extremely prevalent when someone undergoes a life-changing experience. They may have experienced some kind of loss, devastating news, or maybe even death. On the other end of the spectrum someone may have encountered a lifestyle change, gained a spouse or a child, or moved into a different tax bracket. No matter what the experience is it alters who you believe you are. For example, when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior the Word of God tells us that we “become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). When change happens in your life, you are forced to change.

But this can be difficult for most of us because we have been someone for so long that the past lingers deep inside of us, even when we try to remove it. For a long time, I embraced who I had been instead of who I am. I had allowed people to tell me who I was, what I should do, how I should act, and who I should keep company with. This was an inner struggle for me because I knew that I had a greater purpose in life than what I was doing but I was comfortable with the “old me”. The new me, who I truly was, only came out in conversation but never in lifestyle. The company that I was keeping was not a reflection of who I claimed to be. I had no problem talking about who I should be but I struggled when it came to breathing life into this woman.

My past was keeping my future bound!

God reached down into the darkness of my past failures and illuminated what He wanted me to be. He picked me up and dusted me off and gave me my true identity. He had created something out of the ashes of my life and gave me the beauty of an identity.

What I did not realize was that the opinions of others and their expectations were ruling my life. The people around me wanted me to continue to live in my past but I knew that my purpose was in front of me and not behind me. What was on the inside of me was greater than my surroundings outside of me. But it was up to me to let the true me fight what the naysayers had to say. The biggest naysayer of all was myself. I embraced the real me by looking into the mirror and telling myself “I AM NOT MY PAST!” Even though I participated in my past, I no longer lived there. I had learned what I needed to learn from all of those life lessons but there was nothing else for me there.

If you found yourself struggling with your identity, you have to shift your gaze. Adjust
your focus from your rearview mirror to your windshield. Who you truly are lies in front of you while it is paved with the rocks of what is behind you. Do not allow anyone to keep you bound to a past that God has already delivered you from, not even yourself.

With All My Love,
Mrs. Truscott