Reflections In My Rearview Mirror

One of the first rules when learning to drive is to adjust and check the rearview mirror before we ever move the car. Most of us will never forget just how nervous we were taking our driver’s test. As for me, I will always remember that huge Georgia State Patrol officer. The first thing he looked for was to see if I adjusted and checked the rearview mirror before proceeding.

We have also heard the old adage that "he who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it". With that in mind, is it not extremely important that we are always keeping a close watch in our own rearview mirrors? Not necessarily just to avoid the failures of our past, but also to reflect on the good things that have happened in our lives. In my own life, I have learned that as the bad reflections start to fade, the good ones are coming more into focus. Just think about how you seem to always remember that car trip from the best vacation ever, but how many of you remember what happened on the way to work just last week?

My rearview reflections probably are not that much different than most. When I think about childhood, most of the memories were good. My parents gave us a good home filled with love, and taught me the difference between right and wrong. From an early age, I learned to believe in God, and that Jesus came to this earth that we might one day live with Him. Even from childhood, I learned that our lives are to be of service to Him, no matter what our chosen occupation, and we all have talents given to us to further the Kingdom. Like most, I have not always accomplished this, but that is no reason to pull off the road or to apply the brakes.

The only real negative I can remember from my childhood, was having my last name made fun of in school. Amazingly, this was never something that my children had to deal with because there is such a diversity of names in schools now. However, spending time studying my own heritage and learning to be proud of who I was and where my name came from enabled me to overcome those negatives. While bullying is something that is intolerable, I believe that as a society we are too quick to label someone who is mistreated a victim. Instead we should be teaching our children that learning from our adversities will make us stronger.

The reflections I see now contain many failures; some of these are failed relationships, and failed dreams. Just like when we miss a turn on the highway, there are many missed opportunities on the highways of our life. There are also roads we should have never traveled in the first place. Years ago, I was driving in downtown Atlanta and made a wrong turn, and literally wound up on the wrong side of the tracks. After saying a quick prayer, I finally found my way out of that part of town and was able to breathe a big sigh of relief. In the same way if we have faith, our failures can become opportunities, and lessons learned. Life lessons of routes that if we do not learn from we may be lost on our entire lives.

At the same time, my life has had meaning; some of my accomplishments have affected people I may never meet in this life. There is also no greater blessing than to watch your own children and grandchildren grow. My hope is through my own travels I can teach them the right roads to a good life. My prayer as well is that we all learn to love each other as Christ commanded us to, laying aside the obstacles in life and focusing on what it takes to reach our final destination.

Fortunately, I have learned lessons from my own rearview reflections. The good and the bad have taught me just who I am, and I know paths I will never take again. If you have ever driven down a dirt road, it is almost impossible to see anything out of the rearview mirror. Likewise driving down the interstate, everything flies by so quickly we miss a lot of the scenery. Somewhere in between there is balance and the reflections are clear. In my own life, the reflections are now clearer than they have ever been. It is amazing what can happen if we just slow down, take in what is behind us and learn from what is in our own rearview mirrors. If we can only have faith and learn from our past, the roads in front of us can be full of blessings.