“Memories may be beautiful, and yet what’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.”  These words were sung by Barbara Streisand in the recorded theme song from the 1973 hit movie, “The Way We Were”.  When memories become too painful to remember, where do they go?  Do we really choose to forget them, or do we tuck them away in some remote hidden place in our minds?  The human mind contains a plethora of memories.  Some of them are pleasant, but unfortunately, some are not so pleasant. Study has revealed that the human brain consists of one billion neurons that forms approximately 1,000 connections to other neurons.  While not attempting to be a Neurologist (which I am certainly not), the connections amount to more than a trillion.  Each connection has the capability of containing a memory.  Therefore, the brain is full of memories.

Memories are the residue that experiences leave behind.  Just as good experiences leave good thoughts, bad life experiences can leave us emotionally wounded, scared, and filled with phobias. In the attempt to dodge the bad memory storage place, along with masking the residual, personality and character are both altered.  In our daily lives, we waste so much unnecessary energy on covering up our hurt and pain, rather than seeking to overcome it.  Bad memories and the stuff it leaves can rob us of the essentials of a healthy life and lifestyle.  Bad memories not handled properly can equate to an unhealthy emotional state of existence.  Jesus said, however, “I came to give you life and life more abundantly.” Healing from the hurt that bad experiences have left behind, when given to Christ, will free us totally from the emotional scars that are affecting our daily stability.

Our relationships with one another—whether it is marriage, parenting, occupational, church, or whatever—can be more fulfilling when we deal with bad memories and the particles left behind.  Bad memories leave a trail of fears that consummate at the core of how we present ourselves to others.  Because the initial experience was unpleasant, to revisit it shares the same effect if we were to go there alone.  In the Bible, God says He has come as a healer to the whole person.  Being healed from the hurt of the past can occur when we allow Him to enter into our hearts and minds.  True healing is experienced as He, through His Word and not through imagery, is invited to come into us totally.  In a shared internal relationship with Christ and our willingness to surrender to Him all of our bad memories, we become conquerors of the past through Him.

Our present, when controlled by our bad past, hinders the brightness of our prosperous future.  One of the key elements to dealing with bad memories is the power of forgiveness.  True forgiveness can only come through the Power of the Holy Spirit of God. Forgiveness replaces the old bad memories with love and compassion. Pastor Williams welcomes feedback and comments at [email protected].