Inspire: Don't Look Back! Learning a Lesson from Lot's Wife

How can we heed this lesson from Lot's wife?  It may be that in our journey of life, as when we are walking anywhere, it is hard to see where you are headed when you are looking back.  We are instructed to ask for our daily bread and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. After all, we walk by faith and not by sight. 

PORTSMOUTH, VA. (Catholic Online) - I must admit that I enjoy spending time in the world of nostalgia, looking to the past.  The art, the history, and the architecture put in place so long ago leave me speechless. 

This has not always been so.  I remember my history lessons back in school and do not remember them fondly.  It is funny that I now enjoy learning about the lives of those who have gone before.  Maybe history is an acquired taste! 

Understanding where you have been is key to understanding where you are headed.  So, please do not misunderstand the title of the article, our memories and our histories are what give us a reference for the future.  Lessons learned; both good and bad. 

The point of this article is, to be honest, something my wife said to me the other day.  I am quite blessed that she is with me as we travel on this amazing adventure called life. Genesis 19 tells the story of two angels and their rescue of Lot and his family.  Lot was instructed to flee quickly and even escorted out of the city when he hesitated.  Lot was unsure of his ability to flee all the way to the hills and was granted the favor to travel a shorter distance to the small town of Zoar.   The plan was going well and Lot's family had arrived in Zoar when Lot's wife looked back.  She was turned into a pillar of salt.Wait a minute, a pillar of salt?  I have always thought that this was quite an unusual punishment.  All she did was look back.  Why would she be turned to a pillar of salt?  What does this really tell me?  This story from scripture fell into the long list of stories that may make sense to me sometime in the future.  There had to be more to the story.  Well, this particular story does make sense.It was not the act of looking back, but the act of longing. Lot's wife was longing for her past life.  A life which was looking much nicer than the one in front of them.  Their new life would be one where they had abandoned their possessions and where they were to begin anew.  She might not have enjoyed her life in Sodom but maybe it was starting to look better than this new 'adventure'.  Perhaps we have all had times in our lives when we were afraid of what was ahead.  The future can be a scary place.  It does not have to be, but it often is.  We are often scared into action with what-if scenarios.  We are told about what COULD happen if (fill in the blank) happens.  It tests our faith.  There is a reason that we do not see our future.  If I were to have a picture of God's plan for my future growth and development, it might scare me!   Lot's wife was not living in the future or the present, she was longing for the past.  She was drawn into thinking about the 'good old days' which might not have really been all that good. What might her lesson be?  She might remind us that we encounter life in the present.  Jesus therefore desires that we live there.  Live in the present.  Be in the present moment.  Many have written on living in the present moment and they are quite right.  We not only encounter God in the present  moment, we encounter all His children at the same time.  That is where we spend time with our children, our family, our friends as well as everyone!  It is when we live in the past that we are not truly living.  It is as if we have been turned into that pillar of salt. One of my favorite sayings is that if you want to make God laugh, tell him YOUR plans!  Once again, please do not misunderstand, planning for the future is wonderful as long as we are sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  I chuckle when I hear someone vigorously state that they will spend their entire career in a certain area only to change careers in a few months.  You never know with certainty.  Be open to the adventure! By the way, I do not speak from a position of one who is very sensitive to the Spirit.  In order to get my attention, the Holy Spirit sometimes hits me over the head with the proverbial two by four!  Trust me, it hurts! How can we heed this lesson from Lot's wife?  It may be that in our journey of life, as when we are walking anywhere, it is hard to see where you are headed when you are looking back.  We are instructed to ask for our daily bread and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. After all, we walk by faith and not by sight.  (2 Cor. 5:7) My hope and prayer is that we all may be aware of the path God is asking us to walk during this Easter season.  A path that may take us places where we do not wish to go.  A path that leads to transformation and growth, for as Jesus tells us 'I make all things new again'.(Rev. 21:22) -----
Randy Kersey and his wife Colleen just made a major change in their life. They responded to an invitation in faith. They now live in Portsmouth, Virginia where they serve the Lord in several pursuits, including their philanthropic work with the Bella Vitae Foundation.

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