What if you could change your past?

Have you ever watched the movie "Meet the Robinsons?"   If you haven't, I totally recommend it.  Its been a week since I've watched it,  and the message of the story is still lingering in my heart.   

Its a story about an orphan boy who gets access to a time machine, thereby giving him an opportunity to go back in time and change his past.  Like in any movie, the plot thickens and becomes more involved than I can write in a couple of sentences.  Nevertheless, the premise of this story really struck some chords in my heart.

What if I had a time machine?  What If I could erase any sad story that came my way?  As many of you know, my daughter suffered neurological traumas unnecessarily.  The things that happened to her could be quickly erased if we would have known what to do way back in the beginning.  Or what about my teenage years?  The years that brought a lot of pain and scarring in my life.  The things that happened to me should have never really happened.  What if I could go back and change that?

In "Meet the Robinsons" the main character finally gets a chance to go back to the past and meet his mother as she was about to abandon him.  He stood behind her and watched as she put him down on the doorstep of an orphanage.  He slowly inched towards his mother, and reached out his arm to touch her back, but then- he simply withdrew.  He let his mom ring the doorbell and walk out on his life.  He decided to keep his past.

Why?  Because its not the things that happen to us that shape us.  Its the attitude we take to these opportunities that change our future.  Life is not made up of things or events.  Life is made up of convictions, decisions and attitudes.  I heard a man say "The theme of your heart will determine the story of your life."  

Its not really what happened to us that can change us.  Its what we do with what happened to us that will forge our future.  We cant lay down in self pity and regret as life passes us by.  When unfortunate circumstances roll our way we have to decide how we see ourselves.  Are we victims of an event that "should have" never happened, or are we conquerors of our circumstances?   

There is a popular phrase that says "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,"  and for the christians this is absolutely true.  The bible says that "all things work for the good of those who love Christ (Romans 8:28)"  We can only see our lives from the present state, but God knows exactly how everything will come together to bring about a future full of hope and destiny.  The events that happen to us are meant to shape us, not to break us.  

So if I could have a time machine for a day, I dont think that I would want to go back and change the past.  I am not made up of isolated events.  The painful situations that happened have helped me become who I am today!  It would be of no use to dream big if my character could not sustain the weight of my destiny. 

I really recommend that you rent the movie, if you haven't seen it.  Even if you have, try watching it again with this new perspective in mind.  If you find yourself in a time of pain and testing, cheer up!  You are in the middle of a process that will forge a future that is brighter than you could ever imagine.  God's is working on you today!