Blog

by Ami Samuels

Have you ever tried to start a fire by hand? I haven’t, but I have watched members of Survivor do this for several seasons.

Starting a fire by hand takes a great deal of effort. There is a lot of work that goes into trying to ignite a spark, but the work doesn’t end there. Once there is a spark, you have to carefully blow on the fire while cautiously adding kindling. If you blow too hard, you will put out the flame. Likewise, if you add too much kindling too soon, it can snuff out the fire.

My husband Chuck was in a transferable position with his job, which means that with different job opportunities we often had to move to different locations. We have lived in 5 different states. Every time we moved, it seemed to take some time to reignite my flame. It seems I would be just starting to find my groove in a new community, church, ministry, and then we move again.

I have begun to realize that the primary reason I have a hard time reigniting my flame is because I spend so much time looking back at what I had, that I don’t start living where I am. This type of thinking can be destructive when it goes unrecognized.

My focus on my past life does nothing to help me move forward where I am. I had stopped living in the moment and was living in the past. This is not the plan God intended for our lives.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Imagine a runner who races toward a finish line, but he keeps looking back over his shoulder for his opponent. That would certainly hinder his race.

Maybe for you it is a certain time in your life, a job or career, a place where you lived, a person you miss, or a past hurt that you cling too. Some people never find freedom from their past. Don’t let that be you!

I will end with a quote from Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there!”

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