The Spirit of Christmas Past.

When Scrooge is visited by the Spirit of Christmas Past there was a lot of emotions brought up. There were happy memories, fond memories, and ended in sadness. The spirit told Scrooge. "I told you, these are the shadows of things that have been. That they are what they are, do not blame me." We can't change the past. We can look back often and spend hours wondering how things would have been if you had done things differently. BUT THEY ARE WHAT THEY ARE! 

When you spend time looking back you miss all of the good things that are around you. You spend time thinking, Oh, I could have done this differently and changed my path. Let me give you a HUGE secret. Later in the movie when Tiny Tim is singing with his family Kermit says, "Every path will bring me back from where I roam."

You are EXACTLY where God designed you to be. Even if you have taken a detour along the way, God will bring you back where you need to be. If you spend your life looking in the past, you will trip over things that are right in front of you. You could miss out on something that God wants to bless you with. Could you imagine the example that Jesus would have left for us if he had spent time trying to figure out what he could have changed in His life? He wouldn't have had the same impact. Oh he was born of a virgin and Joseph wasn't his father. He could have complained because he had "daddy issues." BUT HE DIDN'T! 

Jesus was sent here for a purpose, just like you and I. God has a plan and a purpose for all of his children. Even Jesus. He knew when He sent him to earth that he was going to die. Jesus knew God's plan for him and even asked for the cup to be passed. But NO ONE could do the things that God had planned for Jesus. Don't be so focused on your past that you miss the purpose of your life. You can't change what could have been, only what can be. They are the "Shadows of things that have been." Leave them as shadows, not reflections.