“Looking back gives you regrets. Looking ahead gives you opportunities.” At least that’s what a Facebook quote says, and it’s hard to argue. Indeed, how often do we miss opportunities of the moment because we’re focused on regrets of the past?
Someone else said, “You can’t move forward in life if you’re always looking back.” That’s true too. However, backwards looks aren’t always filled with regret, and few of us are “always” looking back.
I’ve recently realized that looking back can also yield great rewards.
While cleaning out boxes from storage, I ran across several calendars from past years. I had saved them because the days were filled with significant events from that particular calendar year. I kept them for the record of meaningful history.
I revisited a year from my teens and was reminded of the many hours I spent baby-sitting—often three or four times in a week. I recalled families I hadn’t thought of for years and realized how much my own parenting was shaped by the things I learned as I cared for their children.
Regret? My heart was warmed with memories and gratefulness.
A seminary-days calendar reminded me of the joy of living in seminary housing, sharing life with people who had similar hopes and challenges–and with children the same ages as ours. It also brought to mind God’s faithfulness to provide for us when we stepped out in faith to obey His call.
When we had four children in school, the calendar reminded me of a time when life was filled ball games, special projects, volunteer commitments, and the need to 
take snacks to school. I wonder how I did it all. And yet, in the midst of the busyness, we frequently had company for meals.
I question, “What’s wrong with you now?” and am challenged to gather friends around my table more often.
There were many more reminders and blessings as I thumbed through the years, made note of the benchmark events, and threw the calendars away. I don’t recall any regrets, except maybe that I didn’t make more detailed notes. It was refreshing to look back.
Then Robert and I took a trip to Letcher County in eastern Kentucky where I lived in the 5th through 7th grades. I moved from the Atlanta area to the middle of Appalachia and thought I had landed at the end of the world.
We lived on the campus of Stuart Robinson School, a boarding school, with the county school meeting on the campus. The first weeks, we stayed in the Teacherage while our house was being remodeled for us.
The campus is now called Calvary Campus and is a ministry center for the area. They have suites available, and we were able to stay on campus, in a suite in the Teacherage. It’s totally remodeled, but I stayed on the same floor that had been my introduction to life at Stuart Robinson.
I’m sure Robert got tired of me saying, “This is where . . .” as we toured the campus and I recalled events from my past. But I only told him a fraction of the things that came to mind.
We went to Blackey, just down the road, because we’d heard that the librarians knew everybody and could tell us who was still in the area. One of the librarians is married to one of my classmates. The other had been a good friend when I lived there. She lives in the house she lived in then and still goes to the church we both attended.
As I drove away from the campus, I remembered how I cried, broken-hearted when we moved back to the Atlanta area. It was good to look back and be reminded how the Lord used a “move to the end of the world” to shape and mold me for good.
One more saying about looking back is, “Don’t look back—you’re not going that way.” Once again, I can’t disagree. And yet, there is another side of the issue.
I think we all need to make the time to stop and look back. It gives perspective, revealing God’s faithfulness to be with us, give grace, and cause all things to work together for good.
Knowing where you’ve been can help you see more clearly where you are going. Looking back enriches today and builds faith for the road ahead.