History

I recently met an interesting salesman.  It seems that his passion is treasure stories of old, specifically, old mining towns of America's west.  He dream life centers on maintaining a website with reference materials and forums for other like minded individuals while driving a RV around the country, exploring and writing about new treasury story sites.  As his eyes drifted off, glassy and soft, I knew that this resonated from the deepest parts of his soul.  This was a man appreciating and valuing a slice of our history!
History fills different parts of my life.  I can still recall the days when I did not care about history!  I strongly disliked the history classes that were mandatory parts of my education.  I could not be bothered to listen to the stories of the older generation when I was young.  There was little interest or time spent in exploring what happened yesterday.  It was always about the moment at hand and the one just around the corner.
As I find myself passing through the decades, my interest and appreciation for history has dramatically increased.  At the same time, my frustration with how it can tie others as well as myself down has increased dramatically.  It is hard to let go of one's failures.  It is problematic to start fresh with each day.  It is challenging to live in the moment at hand.
The great news is that the realities of history do not change the freedom you and I have.  When there was a new “king over Egypt who had never heard of Joseph.  He exploited our race mercilessly.” (Acts 7.18)  We still had and have our freedom. 
The fact is that history is merely a gift; it only chokes us when we give it that right.  We can learn from history, we are not obliged to it.  We can move beyond history, we have the ability to grow.  We can honor history by engaging the moment at hand with the values and priorities we hold most dear.
Today we write the new chapters of our history.