Transform Yesterday's Pain

We can’t change our past. But we can learn how to transform yesterday’s pain into something positive for today.

I can still feel the embarrassment. Each football season my high school held an event called “Dad’s Night.” I dreaded it all year. The whole team lined up on the field as the announcer called out names, and dads ran out to stand by their son. All too soon, it was my turn.

“Jim Daly,” said the voice over the loudspeaker. Then, after a deep silence that seemed to last forever: “It appears Jim Daly’s father is not present tonight.” It felt like a kick in the gut.

Fast forward a couple of decades. I’m sitting in a birthing room, holding my first-born son, Trent, and I’m thinking, “Wow! I’m a dad!” As I rock back and forth, I look at the little guy, and I tell him, “I’ll always be there for you! I’ll be a good father – the father I never had.”

The sting of what happened on the football field has never completely gone away. But, over the years, I’ve learned how to channel those negative feelings into something positive. And you know what? My struggles, though painful, have made me a better person, a better husband, and a better father.

Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

You can’t change your past. But your past can inspire you to create a better today.