We can’t go back but we can go on

Art is about sharing stories. My current exhibit hanging in my East Texas hometown of Marshall, Texas, shares stories. This artistic collaboration including my Mom, tells a story.

Collected Works: at HAVEN Artists Collective

There are moments in life when we wish we could rewind time. Maybe to fix something we broke or reclaim something we lost. Perhaps we’d like a second chance to say what we should have said or take back what we did say. In those moments, the pull of the past can feel overwhelming.

But no matter how tightly we hold the memory, how earnestly we replay the scenes in our minds, one truth remains:

We can’t go back.

Time doesn’t offer do-overs. Seasons change. People change. We change.

Still, that doesn’t mean we’re stuck.
We can go on.

Going on doesn’t mean forgetting. It doesn’t mean pretending the past didn’t matter or denying the pain we’ve known. It means taking the lessons we’ve learned and walking forward with open eyes and a tender heart.

We can go on.

With scars that remind us we survived.
With wisdom we couldn’t have gained any other way.
With a deeper grace for others who are just now facing what we already walked through.
With a faith that, while perhaps shaken, is somehow more real.

Thankfully, God is always doing something new, not by erasing the past but by redeeming it.

Isaiah 43:18–19 NIV

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

You and I may not get a chance to relive yesterday, but we have breath today—and that is a sacred gift. We have stories still unfolding, lives still being shaped, and opportunities still being born.

So, no, we can’t go back.
But with courage, hope, and faith, we can move forward.

And in going on, we just might find beauty ahead that we never imagined.

Write your own story. Don’t let others write it for you.