He had the most perfect smile and a huge heart, big enough for the burdens and joys of addictions and teaching; naggings and yelps for help; counseling and cooking; providing and protecting; and just showing pure love. That was Curtis Anderson Sr. That was my dad.

As I remember my dad on this Memorial Day, I am reminded of the great love Jesus had for us and still has for us. He died for our sins. We must remember that. He rose again for our life. We must remember that. And to not shame His cross, we must remember all the old that has died in our lives that we might not reclaim the past again. Philippians 3:13 says, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” So we shouldn’t dwell on the past, but we must forget the past in the sense of not caring for it anymore. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even as you remember the past so you won’t reclaim it, let the dead in your life remain dead. The love of Jesus can give you the power and strength to keep looking forward even as you remember.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith