Reflect or Forget

By Cathy Irvin
CBN Staff Writer

CBN.com - There are some things in life that you want to forget. You would like to be angry at someone, yet it's better to let go and let God help you change your attitude.

You may not see the point in remembering a tragedy. I am one who doesn't like to remember painful events, but that is not the case with 9/11. The anniversary of that terrible day is just around the corner.

If everyone forgets, it might become easier to think that something like that could not happen again, and then no one would be on the alert. We must not forget to pray for this world and all its madness.

I am so thankful that our country sets up memorials for those who have lost their lives. That is why we have holidays like the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day. It is because we live in a free country where we can voice our opinions. We can mourn our losses and yes, reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly.

We are meant to share in one another’s burdens and sorrows, as well as celebrate the good things that happen. It is important to reflect. I think about the scripture below that says, forget that which is behind us, but press on in life.

"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

We can do both. We can forget what we can’t change from the past but also reflect and press on to make our world a better place. We must stay alert to what is happening around us. The enemy is still out there and is not asleep.

When you forget, you get lazy and you don’t think clearly. It's better to reflect on something and discover what changes to make so that you can form a better plan for the future.

The family and friends of those who lost their loved ones will never forget that day, and if we forget we are saying it doesn’t matter. It does matter, and when it stops mattering we have failed to be the people God has called us to be and the nation that has made us great.

To Reflect means to think seriously, carefully and relatively calmly.

To Remember means to keep something in memory or to retain an idea in the memory without forgetting it.

To Forget means to leave behind, dismiss from the mind intentionally or unintentionally, and to neglect somebody or something.

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