Addressing the Past....

...keeps you LEGIT!

Today, as I was cleaning through my trunk of junk (haha) I found so many old things that I've kept throughout the years. I got this trunk the summer of 2003 in preparation of my college years and in order to keep valuables locked in it. Now after 7 years of moving this trunk from here to there and so forth, I have decided that since my college days are over, I should tackle the haunting task of emptying out this trunk and moving ON!!



It's interesting, to say the least, to see what I considered valuable over 7 years. From beanie babies, to bills, to old school papers, and pictures. It was all considered valuable at one point, but as I move to this next stage in life--It needs to be cleaned out!

To go about cleaning this trunk out, I find it necessary to go piece by piece with a garbage pile, shred pile, and keep pile. You would be amazed at how much you can find out about yourself after reviewing 7 years worth of valuable "junk" =)

What started as a minor task of simple sorting turned into a major task of addressing my past. Some positive memories were displayed in birthday cards, high school pictures, etc. Some negative memories though, seemed to shift my mood-- Drastically....


I came across a selection of my writing that did not please me. It shocked me back into my frame of thinking and caused me to reflect and address this part of my past.


This particular selection of writing was during a period of my life when I was not only depressed, but extremely open and graphic about my thoughts and feelings.
Even reading snippets from each poem, and short story, enraged me. Perhaps, an overreaction, but it still angered me to see myself in this light! I wrote sex stories with vivid and profane language that would definitely SHOCK most people I know now. I even began to remember how I was about to work on publishing some of my short stories and poems with another female author so some of my work (under my tag name "GhettoluvChild" had art work done for them by a friend.

Although, I know that these stories no longer represent me and my character, it still angered me. I didn't want to recognize this part of my past and I didn't want to address it. However, God does not want us to hide from those things that we once were but to address it in order to move on with our lives. When thinking about my mind frame during that time, I began to rejoice in the fact that I was lost, but now am found! All of a sudden the miracle of the death of my old self began to be revealed! Praise God for sorting through this junk, because it gave me a revelation of who I once was and who I am now! The fact that this old life and memories shocked me should only cause me to BOAST IN THE LORD. Like many old church sayings, "Look what the LORD DONE DONE!!"

It makes me want to shout and proclaim to the world because this is hard evidence of my old life and my thoughts and actions now are the complete opposite. There was obviously a shift and I thank God that every lie the enemy told me then has been exposed and I'm FREE!! Not only did addressing that I was at one point "LOST"..I also was reintroduced to my passion for WRITING...

I've always enjoyed writing and being creative with my expression and it saddened me that I stopped writing. Lately, I've been trying to keep a journal but it never lasts long. Sometimes I feel as if there is nothing to write about. I've lost this passion because of how the devil perverted it in my past and changed it into something that I would not be proud of - BUT God ...

God is restoring this passion for creativity and it is reflecting a life devoted to HIM. Finding these poems and short stories also helped me address this lost love for writing. I was so open and free when I wrote and God has that for me now. This time, my work will reflect godly character and be used to edify, strengthen, and exhort! I understand that I can redeem this passion and use it for GOOD! Maybe I will still publish a book of short stories with GOD inspired life stories!

So to encourage you all, as we spring/summer clean out our trunks o' junk, don't simply discard, but address the things that you are letting go of! Then, get ready to move forward to a new day of fresh revelation of God's will for your life!!!

"HAPPY ARE THE PURE IN HEART" MATT 5:8