On my desk are cards. Perhaps I should rephrase that: on my desk are comment cards. I’ve thought about throwing them away. Some of them are really kind…but others are vicious. Part of me wants to hold on to them so bad. They keep me humble. But most of the time they just bring up anger and bitterness.
We all have “comment cards” of some form.
Perhaps it is a note from an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend.
Or maybe it is a picture of a friend who betrayed you.
Maybe it is a church bulletin from a church that ran you out.
A book that reminds you of bad days from high school.
A shirt from a parent who hurt you.
We all have those “comment cards” and we are all scared to part with them. I have no idea why this is. Are we gluttons for punishment? Do we really like to be reminded over and over again of past pain? We must. That would be the only logical explanation for why we keep these things. And when we keep them, it is like we are pouring salt on an open wound.
You’ve seen the cycle – you might have even been through the cycle yourself. You see these items and immediately are angered. As time progresses you turn bitter. As time progresses further, you become callous. Callousness is what scares me the most. Because when we become callous…
we stop loving
we stop yearning for more
we stop trying to achieve our dreams
we stop maintaining relationships
we stop.
Callousness is the final nail in our coffin. It causes us to remove the joy from everything in life. So before you hit that level, have you identified your “comment cards?” Get rid of them. Get rid of them so that you can live. Don’t try to convince yourself that you’re keeping them to keep you humble or to remind you of him/her or in hopes of regaining their friendship. Stop coming up with excuses and start living your life without the baggage of past pain.
CalebTrimble 
This comes as a really good time for me. As I was searching through some papers (birth certificate, etc. to apply for a passport) I came across a shoe box of “comment cards”…things I was hesitant to part with…things to try to hold on to the good memories. Your advice is good and sound. Time to discard and look to better things to come. I don’t think it’s possible to build something new in the shadow of something old. Thanks!
If only we could all learn to let go. I think we are fearful of what we will find if we let go of everything, though. Good insights!
My theory is. “Forget the past but Remember the lessons learned.”
By LtZ
That’s a good motto to live by
Many years ago, I was holding onto some journaling in which I wrote about the pain someone had inflicted on me. I felt like I should show it to her someday, in case she felt moved to apologize. One day, though, I felt like God was whispering 1Cor. 13:5 over and over to me. “Love…keeps no record of wrongs.” I didn’t want to, but I burned the notebook that day and have not once regretted it. The person never did apologize, but the weird thing is that I completely forgot the thing that I had ruminated over for so long. In a weird way, it was like I had filled out a negative comment card to me from her and then wouldn’t let it go. Really great post! Thanks for the reminder.
Very insightful verse. I had not considered that verse in writing this. But it fits beautifully. Thanks for your input!