Where our behinds should really go...

One of my favorite cartoon quotes comes from a warthog…Timon, from the Lion King….”You gotta put your behind in the past.” Of course, his mixed up words made for a comedic moment during the movie, but his intention was good. We do need to put our past behind us…the Bible says --

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

But what do we do when our past rears its ugly head….what do we do when our behinds won’t get behind? We can try our hardest to move past the past and believe there is forgiveness from the Father, but the world is not so quick to forget and just when you think you’re out from underneath the weight of the label or gossip or guilt or finger-pointing….something happens and you are reminded of it all over again.

For those of you who have been following my blog or who have heard me speak, you know my story….time spent in prison and very public case that played out in the papers of a very small town. In some ways, a lot of time has passed, in others, it’s as if it happened yesterday….let me give you an example….

Last weekend, my nephew, who plays high school football, was playing for a conference title. My husband and I decided to go to the game to see him play. The only hitch….this would take me to the very epicenter of my case years ago. And although it was years ago, there are some who haven’t let the past be behind. So going to the small town, to a game that the entire town would be at, was a real test of my character.

Shane and I were standing in the crowd when we decided to take a concession break, but walking away would mean we would lose our spot to the large crowd and huge number of spectators. So I suggested that Shane go get concessions without me and I would hold our spot. He looked at me as if to say, “What?” In fact, he did ask me if I would be O.K. standing there alone and I said yes. But, in reality, there was a small voice inside that made me a little scared and uncertain of being in the crowd on my own. But I did it!

At half time, I had to go out on the field to shoot a picture for our paper. That required me to walk out in front of the home stands…all.the.way. across.the.front.  Talk about a big test….Wow. But I did it, with head held high. What a great hurdle for me to jump.

But just when I get it together….the past shows its behind! Friday, Shane and I attended a funeral viewing for a pastor friend. Standing in line, I was faced with a group of people who knew me when…..The viewing took us over an hour to get through – a real testament to the amount of lives this dear man touched. But for me, the temptation crept in and I started to think of what might have been said among the whispers and hushed tones. The truth – there probably wasn’t anything being said. In fact, nothing was said at all….to me. Which may have fed into my insecurities even more so…the fact that we stood there for over an hour and not one person said anything to us besides the receiving family.

In situations like these, my past replays in vivid fashion through my mind. And no amount of cartoon quotes can make the reel stop playing. But what does help….the Truth found in the Word.

You know the scripture that says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, so I might not sin against You?”  Well, hiding the word in our hearts also comes in handy when you are standing in a crowd of people and you don’t have a Bible to whip out.  Memorizing key scriptures to speak out loud or under your breathe is the best way to arm yourself when the enemy wants to remind you of you past. Since we already read that there is no condemnation…so that leaves only one place for those feelings of guilt and insecurity to come from…the devil.

It’s the same strategy Jesus used…quoting scripture. If it worked for Him, it will work for us. But the trick to making it work is to keep your heart and soul fed with the truth and hope found in the Bible. That means, for those of us who have ever made a mistake, failed, messed up, sinned….pretty much that is all of us…we need to be spending time daily in the Bible. It is not just a “to do” for our religious checklists, it is vital to our survival.

Like air is for our lungs, the word is to our souls. It is an absolute necessity and it can’t be only on Sunday….that won’t be enough. Make a commitment to step into the truth, to walk in the light, to become the powerful overcomer that Jesus died for. Put your behind in the past with the power of the word!