The past is not a package one can lay away.
Emily Dickinson
“If only I knew then what I know now”. If only I could go back in time and redo this or that. Time is a good teacher, however, and regret can be a bully. The past should not be put on lay away in the mind and heart to pick up at a later date. I can view myself a failure over things I did wrong or I can see through to God telling the story of His faithfulness, forgiveness and fulfillment.
Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”