Week 139

Positive post Sunday, October 13, 2019- Week 139. 

Well, we’ve moved into fall with Halloween just around the corner.  Yes, Halloween decorations are already up, and I’m sure Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations will start popping up very soon (Actually, Christmas decorations have been out for sale at Lowe’s for over a week). 

When riding my bike over the weekend I rode by a house that was fully decorated with all the Halloween favorites including spiders, tombstones, and several skeletons.  Seeing the skeletons reminded me of the saying, “we all have skeletons in our closets”, a phrase that some sources say was coined in England in the 19th century and defined by Wikipedia as a colloquial phrase and idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact about someone which, if revealed, would damage perceptions of the person.

When some hear the saying “skeletons in the closet” they immediately think of others and become judgmental, especially about those they see as having many problems.  Perhaps it would be more appropriate, or Christlike, to look in the mirror rather than judge others.  As Jesus said in John 8:7, “let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any stones in my hand to throw.  Afterall, don’t we all have challenges in our past that we’re not particularly proud of, or a chapter in our lives that we don’t read out loud?

I have found it helpful, and somewhat therapeutic, to acknowledge the shortcomings in my past and ask for God’s forgiveness and spend most of my time looking forward and creating a positive and fruitful future.  As Dr. Allen Hunt notes, “Jesus cares more about your future than he does about your past”.  

Have you made peace with the skeletons in your closet by asking for God’s forgiveness?  Have you shifted your focus to the future and explored the many ways you can have a positive impact on others?