Overcoming One's Past

It is said our lives consist of where we have come from, who we are right now, and where we are going. For many of us, where we have come from can be very dominant in our minds. Sometimes it is a source of strength and hope, when we look at the things we have learned and the accomplishments we have made, but all too often, it can be a source of discouragement and frustration. This happens when we look at the scars of past negative experiences, the things from our past that encumber us and make life difficult. We all have histories, and too often those histories have not been positive. These experiences have been scarring: we may have experienced rejection or abandonment. We may have experienced so-called “love” that was merely conditional, where in order to receive comfort or encouragement, we had to perform to expectations that were imposed on us by the agendas of others. Too often we feel like weary travelers through life, travelers who have accumulated much baggage, baggage that can be cumbersome, burdensome, and heavy.

Jesus knows this. He calls to us with the words of the Gospel. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[Matthew 11:28-30]  Jesus knows about our past, our burdens, our scars and baggage. He does not promise to wave them away, as if they had never happened: our past, where we have come from, is still part of us. But he speaks to our present, to who we are, right here and right now. He does not offer magic solutions: instead, he offers himself. He is gentle, not rough. He is humble in heart, not proud. He asks us to put down our heavy burdens and take up his yoke instead, a yoke which is easy and light. He invites us to learn from him. He offers us rest.

This is an invitation to us to use the present moment to change the trajectory of our past. Jesus asks us to engage with him, to take upon ourselves the commitment to follow him, and in return, we will receive Jesus himself, who is gentle and humble, whose love is not conditional, and whose teachings are wise and true. He can transform our past from being a burden that we carry around with us, to a source of wisdom, strength and hope. He can and will do this for us because of who he is. Jesus is not here for himself, but for us: he is here to save us. In him, we find rest for our souls, meaning for our journey, and a new, better trajectory for our lives.