1561)  Our brains are amazing. The few books I have read about them are so interesting. For example, the brain can adapt and when drugs or PTSD alter it, it can heal.

Another amazing thing the brain gives us is the ability to remember. It’s possible to conjure up events from decades ago with a snap of a finger. There is at least one flaw with this: our brain picks which events, and what part of it, we recall. For example, you may see inside your mind the birth of your children, but do you remember the sleepless nights? Do you remember getting your first job and the hope and possibilities to come and then, reality hit? We don’t always set out to just remember parts of events, but our brain categorizes them and, often, when something traumatic happens, mercifully, the brain can turn it off, at least for a bit. Memories can be a wonderful thing.

There is another problem with memories, though. Our brain can exaggerate something we may have done wrong and won’t allow us to get out of this digital loop of condemnation. These thoughts are not helpful, in fact, they can hinder us from what God wants us to do next.

Paul is a good example of not allowing his accusatory memories to defeat him. Paul, named Saul originally, did horrific things to the Christians of the early church, but when God called him on the road to Damascus, he was changed.

In Romans 1, we see Paul as a different man. It does not mention here that his memories of his past actions plagued him; they may have. What Paul does is keep his focus forward, not backward. He had an important job to do and this rear-view mirror watching would interfere with this.

Sometimes our brains convince us things were better in the past. This may not be true because we don’t always remember everything. Wouldn’t it be better to keep our focus looking forward? After all, the past has already been written.