I was in the 5th grade and for the first time girls were becoming a lot more interesting that my Star Wars action figures.
There was this one girl…her name was Tara Ann…and she was a babe. (Well…for a 5th grader she was a babe!) I had a crush on her and when we had to get in line I would often try to stand next to her.
NOW…I never said anything to her…I didn’t know what to say, I guess I figured if I just stood near her for long enough she would notice my awesomeness and want to be my girlfriend.
BUT…there was a problem…in the 5th grade I weighed around 692 pounds. OK…so that is a stretch…but saying that I was HUGE is not a stretch. Still…I dreamed that one day I would have the chance to impress Tara Ann.
That day finally arrived!!!
We were going into our PE class right after lunch—we had just had Taco’s…and I was standing next to Tara Ann. The PE teacher told us to split up in pairs so that we could see how many sit ups we could do. We would hold our partners feet and then they would hold our feet.
Well…as it turns out…Tara Ann was going to be my partner. I began to sweat…this was my chance, this is what I had been looking for…the opportunity to impress Tara Ann. I knew in my mind if I dedicated myself to doing an enormous amount of sits ups that she would be SO impressed with me and desire to couple’s skate with me the next time we were at Skateland.
I went first…please keep in mind we had just eaten Tacos.
Like I said, I went first…and on the third sit up…uh, yeah…let me just say that I parted her hair. Most men would have been proud of what I ripped off…but I wanted to die!!! AND…it stunk…BAD, it was one of the worse smells ever…I almost threw up & I think I actually saw her turn green. (For those who still don’t know what happened—I pooted!!!)
Now we all pass gas. THAT isn’t the problem…the problem is that I did it right in the face of the prettiest girl in the 5th grade!
Well, you guessed it…by the end of the day everyone knew that I had floated an air biscuit in P.E. And from that day on I was never able to stand near Tara Ann again. I just couldn’t…and to be honest, even through high school I would look at her and just feel sorry for the day I nearly killed her while trying to do sit ups.
SO a few years ago I went to my 10 year high school reunion…and there she was. She smiled and said “hello” and I did the same…and that was that. But walking away I just laughed because, well, what had taken place in the 5th grade was IN THE PAST…even though at the time it was traumatic and devastating…today I can laugh about it.
I can honestly say that I am totally over an event that made me want to never eat tacos again.
How about you?
One of the things I have noticed about Christians is that many of us have a hard time dealing with our past…especially those of us who come to Christ later in life.
If you were eight or nine when you accepted Christ, grew up with godly parents, did the right things, went to church…then your biggest regret is probably sniffing Elmer’s glue or smoking a crayon. (And you need to be THANKFUL for that!)
However, if you have a past like me…there a days when random thoughts pop into your mind about “that thing you did” or “that time when you…” For some of you in is happening right now!
But here’s the awesome news…the Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17 that if you are in Christ then you are made BRAND NEW…the old has gone and the NEW (YOU) is here. The Bible also says in Romans 8:1 that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ. NONE…ZERO…NADA!
Does the past hurt? Yes! Are there things that we regret? Yes…but here’s the deal, if you are in Christ you’ve got to let it go—Christ has! IF YOU DON’T LET YOUR PAST DIE THEN IT WON’T LET YOU LIVE! Stop identifying yourself by who you WERE and start looking at who you are in Christ.
When Christ forgives…He COMPLETELY forgives…even your deepest, darkest regret…FORGIVEN in Christ. That is HIS power, HIS mercy, HIS grace…and it truly is AMAZING!!!
We will be celebrating what Christ has done for us this weekend as we take communion. (Our communion services are some of the most moving services we have at NewSpring…this would be an awesome weekend to get someone here who does not know Christ!!! Trust me…the Gospel WILL be explained!)
AND—I will be dedicating an entire sermon to this subject on Sunday, March 4 in the first message of our next series, “Girls Gone Wild!”
YES…we are doing a series called “Girls Gone Wild!” BUT—there will be no nude people. You see, there are some girls in the Bible that went WILD…for Christ!!! AND we can ALL learn lessons from them…EVEN THE MEN!!!
SO…make plans to be here for that series…it is going to be incredible! I love taking things that culture has made gross and redeeming them…from now on those who come to NewSpring and hear “Girls Gone Wild” are going to have some different thoughts…I can’t wait!!!