Out with the Old, Cherishing the New

On my trip to michigan this past week my mom reminded me that there was an old trunk of belongings of mines in one of the back rooms. Since they had been cleaning out everything she requested that I take the my old materials with me. When I got home to Virginia, I started to go through some of the items and found my old diary. This diary was written in 1999-2000. Funny thing is, I remember writting the diary and saying to myself on various occasions how excited I would be to read everything I had written 10-15 years down the road. I started with the first page and quickly thumbed through every entry I had written. My oh my how I have matured over the years. Instead of being excited I was quite disappointed with what was written. Various complaints about my parents (typical highschool freshmen), remarks about boys that I would talk to (typical boy crazed teenager), and plenty of profanity (typical hot head teen). It was interesting to reminice on my best friends first pregnancy and abortion; the many times I wouold be caught up in arguments envious school mates; and the new friendships I was able to make my first year in high school. Toward the end of the journal I began to see a transition of my faith and when I began to get serious about my walk with the Lord. I began to write more about messages I heard preached from the pulpit, people who inspired me, and even confessions about my shortcomings. After finishing the entire journal, I decided that I would not hold on to those tokens of the past....so I ripped out every page and threw it in the trash. I am greatful for the reminder of how I have matured over the years, but I honestly and more interested in seeing what the future holds ahead than looking behind me. In the end, I have no regrets and I am living every day in full optimism of what the Lord has in store.