Moving On

I love C.S. Lewis! He puts things in such a way that I understand his message completely and I am taught by the spirit as I read his writings.

"No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence." (Letters of C.S. Lewis)

To me, he is speaking to the importance of repentance and pushing on. No one ever said life would be easy and some days it isn't fun -- but endure we must. I remember reading a story Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith told of a woman who had repented of immorality and was struggling to find her way. She asked him what she should do now. In turn, he asked her to read from the Old Testament the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Lot, and of Lot's wife who was turned to a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). He asked her what lesson that story held for her and she didn't understand. He told the repentant woman "The lesson for you is don't look back!"

So, as long as we continue to 'notice the dirt' in ourselves and keep wiping it off, it we are repenting. I believe we will be tattered and dirty by the time we are through with this life, but forgiving ourselves and continuing on without looking back propels us towards home, where all good things await.