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One summer day, I heard a knock at my door and opened it to see my neighbour holding out some of the bounties from his garden. I was happy but surprised to see him. He had been involved in a serious car crash (through no fault of his own) only weeks before, and I knew he was facing more surgery to correct some lingering injuries.
We chatted for a few minutes; then, I asked him if he was experiencing any anxiety over driving after his accident. I felt comfortable asking because I had been in a car crash in my early 20s, and I still remembered the aftermath that had ensued. My neighbour just looked at me matter-of-factly and said, “That was in the past. Now I just move forward”.
My neighbour’s wise words immediately resonated with me, and I have pondered them many times since. Really, wasn’t that part of what our Savior’s Atonement could do for us? Yes, things happen in life. Some things are out of our control. Some things require repentance. Some things we need to find a way from which to heal. And, yes, there are some things we need to forgive, and there are some for which we need to be forgiven. With the help of our Heavenly Father and the Savior we can continue on the covenant path without those circumstances defining us in a negative way. We can move forward with confidence.
President Nelson reassures us, “Then as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power, And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead” (in Conference Report, Nov. 2021, 94). These promised blessings can give us the courage and strength to move forward.
A Priesthood Blessing Brings Light
A priesthood blessing I received several years ago gave me increased personal clarity, counsel and strength to move forward from my childhood trials. One piece of counsel from that blessing advised me to take those trials from my childhood and other things that had negatively impacted me, put them into a virtual box, and then place that box on a shelf. On occasions when I needed increased clarity, I could take the box down and examine its contents.
After I had worked through the issue and made sense of it, I could close the box and put it back on the shelf. I did not need to carry that box around constantly. This knowledge and practice have brought me much-needed peace as I try to live a covenant life.
My neighbourhood is situated at the top of a hill. While driving home recently, I noticed a woman walking backward down the hill! She could not see where she was going; she could only see where she had been.
My first thought was, oh, my! She’s going to stumble and fall! My second thought was, how often am I so busy looking at my past mistakes and trials that I can’t focus on all the good that is right there in front of me?
Further Light from the Scriptures
The scriptures are full of examples that show me that I can move forward confidently, leaving my trials, heartbreaks, mistakes, and struggles behind.
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One of my favourite scripture stories is found in John 4:7-39 and was highlighted in a talk by Sister Susan H. Porter, “Lessons at the Well” (in Conference Report, Apr 2022, 59). This is what I love about the story: the woman is not perfect, and she has “a past.” But when she converses with the Savior, she recognizes him as Jesus the Christ. She then allows this knowledge to change her and move her forward. She shares that knowledge with her city.
John 4:39 states: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of that woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.”
The woman at the well had things in her past that could have held her back. As she recognized Jesus for who He was, she chose to move on from her past mistakes and share that knowledge with others. The woman at the well could be all of us who have the courage to move forward in spite of an imperfect past.
Sister Porter reminds us, “Like her, we can choose to turn to the Savior today for the strength and healing that will enable us to fulfill all that we were sent here to do” (in Conference Report, Apr 2022, 59.) I love this quote and try to live it.
I am grateful that my neighbour reminded me on that summer day that with our Savior’s beautiful Atonement and Heavenly Father’s loving help, we all have the power within us to overcome and move on from the trials in our lives.
“That was in the past. Now, I just move forward.”