But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, & she became a pillar of salt.
— Genesis 19:26

…let us forget the past & live in the eternal present of God’s happy smile.
— The Science of Mind, page 471

Release the Past

Some say you can’t love anything that can’t love you back, but I disagree. The more I love my things, the better they behave. I was really attached to Susie, my red Subaru, whom I had been driving for seven years. She always started up in freezing weather, in scorching weather, plus rain & under hailstorms! She had been to me like the law of the universe. All I had to do was direct her, & Voila!, she took me to my destination.

One day, I went out to the parking lot of my apartment building, & saw that somebody had backed into Susie, smashing her right rear fender. The estimated damage was $1,000. “Hmmm,” thought I. “That is practically a down payment on a new car.”

The next week, I decided to look at new cars, just to see what was on the market. Three hours later, I ended up buying one! As we were test-driving Sylvia (my new, metallic silver Ford Festiva), I began telling the salesman my feelings for Susie, my beloved Subaru. He turned to me & said with equanimity & Texas charm, “With all due respect, Ma’am, you just gotta release the past!”

I looked at him in utter amazement, for I had preached on that topic dozens of times. And then he followed it with the clincher, “Yup. You just gotta release. You can look at the past, all right, Ma’am, but just don’t stare!”

I stopped staring into the rear view mirror as I thought, “Thank you, Susie, for all the miles we have covered in this lifetime, & welcome to my new life, Sylvia. We have great things to do together!”

AFFIRMATION
Today I make a commitment to stop dwelling on the past. I joyously allow my vision to rest upon what is actually happening now, & the magnificent possibilities that lie ahead. And so it is.
Thank you God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor