"Forget what is behind and reach toward what is ahead."

I recently had dinner with a friend I had not spent much time with in several months. She sent me a note the next day expressing how "glad" she was I "seem in better spirits.” She then paraphrased from Phil 3:13: "Forget what is behind and reach toward what is ahead,” concluding with, "That is all we can do."

There was poignancy to her final words that touched me. I'm reminded we all have been hurt in ways we may never share even with those close to us.

My second reaction to her note, however, is that forgetting is not "all we can do." Certainly, we are free to respond to the vagaries of life in many ways. I think, rather than saying forgetting was our only choice, she was recommending forgetting as a desirable way, perhaps the best way to deal with disappointment and pain.

I'm not sure I agree with her. Of course disagreeing with her also puts me in disagreement with Paul, but as my friend herself told me over twenty-five years ago, "It wouldn't be the first time, and disagreeing with Paul does not automatically mean you disagree with God."

So, forgetting, while it may in fact be the best way to deal with the vagaries of life, is not all we can do. We are free to respond in many ways.