How to redeem your past for a better tomorrow

Some years ago in a small Idaho town, police received a call one night from neighbors who reported seeing a car driving around the neighborhood in reverse. So they sent a patrol out to check and found the driver of the car to be a teenage girl in her parents' car.

The girl explained to the police, "My parents loaned me the car for a few days and I just realized I had put too much mileage on it. So I starting driving around in reverse to try and unwind some of it."

That girl learned a tough lesson that night: you can't undo what's been done. And very often, we make mistakes we wish so hard we could undo. Perhaps we used harsh words with someone and want to take them back. Maybe we hurt a relationship by being dishonest. Or, perhaps we betrayed a friend's trust that we may never get back.

As much as we may want to, we can't erase those things. The mileage is already on the car. But what we can do is respond to what's happened in grace and repentance and find a way to move forward. Don't try to erase the past. Accept it, reconcile with others, and redeem it for a better tomorrow!