Letting Go of the Past, Toward a Brighter Future

I am a physical therapist. In my effort to become a better healer for my patients, I strive continuously to improve. As the years go by, I gain knowledge not only from textbooks but more meaningfully through the patients themselves. At times, these encounters even offer me profound spiritual insight.

One thing I’ve come to notice through consultations is that many patients believe their current pain stems from past illnesses or long-ago injuries. This belief is especially common among those who feel their initial treatment was mishandled or that their suffering was caused by someone else’s mistake.

Yet, in most cases, pain in the muscles or joints arises from current lifestyle habits or behavioral patterns. Patients who refuse to acknowledge this often conclude that they cannot be healed unless their past is somehow undone. As a result, no matter how effective the treatment, it yields little improvement. On the other hand, those who accept their present condition and seek to change their habits and behaviors tend to show far better outcomes.

Observing my patients’ healing journeys led me to reflect on my own spiritual condition. The hardships I face along the path of faith are often rooted not in the distant past, but in my present spiritual habits and conduct. And yet, I wonder—have I, too, turned my frustration toward “something long ago,” blaming the past for my pain? In doing so, I am no different from the patients who remain bound by past injuries, unable to heal.

From now on, I will walk forward in faith, setting my hope on the eternal kingdom. I will become a child who grows in faith day by day, obeying the will of God who heals my soul and leads me toward a brighter future.