It is easy to romanticize the chapters we’ve already closed, especially when the current chapter feels uncertain or quiet. But looking back with regret ignores the beautiful ways you have grown since then. Your past served its purpose by bringing you to this exact moment of awareness, and your future has plenty of room for your new heart.

God: I saw you look at your past today.

You: I can’t seem to stop looking back at that version of my life. I keep wondering if I made the wrong choices, or if I left my best days behind me.

You learned what your soul cannot tolerate.

– Jacqueline Whitney

God: It is natural to look back at paths you spent so much time walking. But you are looking at that landscape with the wisdom you have now, not the awareness you had then.

You: It just feels like I lost so much time trying to fix things that were already broken.

God: You didn’t lose time; you gathered data. You learned what your soul cannot tolerate. You learned how much you are capable of enduring, and you learned when it is time to walk away.

You: I guess I’m just afraid my future won’t be as vibrant as the things I had to leave behind.

God: The future we are building together isn’t meant to replicate your past. It is meant to honor the person you became because you survived it. You can look back with kindness, but you don’t live there anymore. Turn around. There is so much room for you here.

Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.