Letting go is difficult and is easier said than done.
In Genesis 19, the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is told, specifically that of Lot and his family. The city of Sodom was filled with evil and immorality to the point that God felt it was necessary to destroy it in order to cleanse the earth of its wickedness. Moments before the city is demolished, angels spared Lot, Lot's wife, and their two daughters. The four of them were told to flee to a nearby city and not look back. Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.
“And Lot's wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human." – Kurt Vonnegut, "Slaughterhouse Five"
The story of Lot's wife is short, but it's significant. We've all been like Lot's wife at one point or another. We know the future contains riches far better than the past, yet we look back with a sense of longing at what we once had. When Lot's wife looked back, she was turned into a pillar of salt for the rest of time. She could no longer move forward because she was trapped by the image of the past.
When you desire what is in the past, you are denying the plans God has for your future and prohibiting yourself from moving on. Go ahead, look back, and cherish your past because it has molded you into the person you are today. Just don't let it mold you into a pillar of salt; know when it's time to move on. You have to eventually be like Elsa, minus the snowstorm and ice castle, and let it go.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, "' For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" God knows the plan for your life and he wants you to run after him as if you are running from the fallen city of Sodom and toward sanctuary. We make mistakes and we are weak like Lot's wife, yet "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
Don't be afraid to acknowledge the past, but don't be fearful of the future as well. Learn from the past and remember it, but don't let the past keep you from what God has in store for you.
"Never look back darling, it distracts from the now." – Edna Mode, "The Incredibles"
