Share the fragments

So, you're over the hill, or so you may feel. Maybe, you're 50 or thereabouts. Anyway, you're most likely done with half of your time on the planet, hm? You look, you see the great memories, the fine relationships, the fruit of your labor. I hope you take time to look. Rewinding the videos can be a good thing every now and then. Given the same circumstances and the same you, you would most likely make the same choices, wouldn't you? Be thankful for that good stuff. If you had an intact family where there was love and caring and growing and shared life, thank God for that. If you had food and clothes and school and stuff, thank God for that, too. Remember some of your early friendships? How about some teachers who actually gave you some real time and attention? Thank God for that. Now, think harder: can you be a good memory for somebody else? Can your life lessons make a difference for someone else? Can your friends and kids and parents remember you with fondness and smiles and gratitude?
Time in relationship is not a waste. You can invest some of your life experience into someone else's life.
Ok, now what about the other side of this coin? What if you look back, and the bad memories cloud out the good ones? Maybe there was no intact family. Maybe there was sadness, or anger, or abuse, or neglect. Maybe you'd rather not rewind some videos too often. Well, given the same circumstances and the same you, you would most likely make the same choices, wouldn't you? Maybe other people's choices made your life harder than it had to be or should have been. Maybe you had to grow up way too soon and you still feel robbed and resentful. Maybe you struggle now because of then. So, what got you through "then?" Did you make some bad choices to escape pain? Are you still? Are you still letting other people and circumstances from way back control your life now? Are those old videos still the only ones you watch? You don't have to, you know. You can let the God of all comfort heal those hurts. You can get help from those who know and care and are trained to help. You can let the past be the past. Then, you can help somebody else who is still watching their videos and wondering why.
Our defeats can become someone else's victory. In so doing, they can become ours.