"The ride tends to be a little smoother if we spend more time looking through the windshield than we do at the rearview mirror." I'm not sure exactly who quoted that but it's one I've found to be quite accurate. There is a reason the windshield of the car is bigger than the mirrors, because where you are going is more important than where you have been. Take a minute and write that down. Let that take root deep into the proverbial bedding of your soul and conscience.
The Bible even says that without a vision the people perish. Now don't beat me up for using the Bible as my reference, it's my personal point of wisdom and the only source I let speak into me. See, God gave us a memory and an imagination. A memory is a snapshot of what has past, our imagination is a snapshot of our future. We spend so much time focusing on the past, we put pictures up on our wall of the past, we dive back in our memories of the kids when they were small, the family gathering photos we have in our albums, etc.
What about the future? People used to think I was a bit crazy, they would walk into my house and I'd have a picture of a Harvard degree with my kids name on it posted on the wall. My kid was six at the time! I'd have a picture of this farmhouse with a hundred acres of land with horses and cattle on it sitting right above my fireplace. Why? Because I wanted to equally look at my future as well as my past.
Call me crazy and that's okay, I just believe in mentally picturing it first before I can ever begin working towards it! I'd come home after a long hard work day and I'd look at that picture and it would remind me why I'm working in the rain, cold, icy weather or the scorching heat outside. Now I won't say I've made it yet, but I will say I have came quite far from them days of living in a one bedroom apartment, with nothing but Ramen noodles and dry cereal to eat all week because I couldn't afford a gallon of milk and my weekly groceries budget was $25.
But I realized that I couldn't be a victim. I couldn't sit and feel bad for myself. I had to find a way to keep pressing on, keep grinding and work my way INTO that farmhouse picture! Setbacks are going to come. That's a promise. Obstacles are going to present itself. That's a given. Two months after I hung that future farmhouse picture on the wall, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, ultimately had a bone marrow/stem cell transplant and survived. Yet at the same time had to still keep my focus on the future.
So, I'd encourage you that while we are surely in challenging times right now, stop focusing so much on the past. Look towards the future. Create a vision. Don't be afraid to dream big. God's not looking at your bank account or your abilities, he's looking at your faith. Until next time.