We each have a past. Some are so weighted that it seems impossible to move beyond the experience.  Opposite are those former experiences that serve as a positive lift toward our futures. In both cases, we cannot rest on what has happened.

The same principle is true when the past belongs to a group, a community, and even a country. History, whether negative or positive cannot be change. It can be told from various vantage points, but the raw facts remain the same. Juxtapose this with the future. For instance, the remainder of today is yet to be determined, which gives each of us a chance to participate in and influence a positive outcome. And our past should certainly influence what we do next.

Let’s take the good and the bad just as it was – let’s not hide the ugly scars that remind us of past mistakes. Neither should we stare too long at the trophies of victory. Move on, move forward, move upward towards an even greater existence as an individual entity, and collectively as a country. In the end, we should use all that is available, including our past to reach for God’s best for our lives.