Biblical Answer

Making Peace with Your Past

The first step in making peace with your past is to acknowledge the pain you've been avoiding. This is the year to turn around and face down your history so it doesn't continue to reach out and sully your future. You'll sacrifice to reach your dreams, and by faith, you must plan for your tomorrows and work out your life purpose. The past is foundational to all you are and do, and by faith, you must learn from your past, build upon your past, and do better than you did in the past.

Dealing with the Past

To make peace with your past, you need to address the past and not let it continue to affect your future. If your family of origin was dysfunctional, and most are, this is the year to find someone to help you understand how your past intersects your future. The past always looks better in hindsight than it actually was when you were living through it the first time. Acknowledge the pain you've been avoiding and face down your history. Learn from your past, build upon your past, and do better than you did in the past. This is the year to forgive those who have hurt you and to ask for forgiveness from those you have hurt.

Overcoming the Past

You can't undo your past, and you can't go back to redo your history. Thank God for who you are and what He has made of you. Thank God for your weaknesses and your strengths. You need to deal with the people in your life and not look to them to meet a need that only God can meet. When memories of past hurts flood your mind, face them, and allow yourself to remember the incident. It's even okay to feel the old feelings come flooding back. But don't stay there. Learn from your past, and use it to grow and become a better person. This is the year to turn around and face down your history so it doesn't continue to reach out and sully your future. By faith, you must plan for your tomorrows and work out your life purpose. The past is foundational to all you are and do, and by faith, you must learn from your past, build upon your past, and do better than you did in the past.