Stain.

In a moment, old memories can come flooding in, reawakening fears and reopening wounds to bleed once more.

A familiar pain returns to the mind just as piercing as it was then. It is unwelcome, but pain never needed permission. God only knows how many days were spent masking the regret, burying the emotions, finally and definitively moving on. Yet a voice, a solitary auditory disturbance in that one, accustomed frequency unravels those grave clothes, and yesterday becomes very much alive, very much current and relevant and affecting.

It subsides almost as quickly as it came, resounding in your ears one last time, a final reminder that it will never truly be gone. It is as much a part of you as you are a part of it. Repression, suppression, forgetting, remembering: there are no techniques, no quick fixes to ensure freedom from the memories.

Your life is stained.
                      

Memory.

Time will always move on, chiseling in stone events of the present, establishing the past in permanence.

Dwelling on the past will lead you down an inevitable path. You'll come across things that you wish you could relive, memories you'll cherish forever. And of course, your mind will stumble onto other things, moments of weakness or anger, memories laced with regret and hopelessly unchangeable. Yes, the past, once lived moments, are parts of our being that, while physically gone, stay with us forever.

Too often, I allow the past to define me, or worse, allow it to determine my future. I forget how powerful the past can be, a mental presence that can yield glorious hope and overwhelming fear. Ultimately though, I know that I empower the past. I determine whether the thoughts can consume me or not.

And firmly grasping that truth, I can let go. I can give the past to God, and He can use it to guide me in the future. Recalling those painful events can retrain my focus and remind me not to allow those situations to arise again. In the moments where I'm at my weakest, where I'm far gone and I don't believe I can ever get back, I'm reminded that God has got me through it before, and even better, He can do it again.

The past isn't just an eternal reminder of our shortcomings. It's a lesson learned, a tool that equips us for the future. Through God, the past can heal us.