Foggedaboutit!

Reading in Isaiah 43 this morning, my eye caught a couple of verses I had underlined years ago.

Verse 19 says: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past."

Verse 26 says: "Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence."

These two verses seem to contradict each other...

Sometimes when I tell people my story; with good intentions they tell me not to dwell on it. It's in the past. We have an older neighbor across the street who loves to say with a strong polish accent, "Foggedaboutit!" (Translation: Forget about it!) Lately I have been really struggling with whether we should foggedaboutit or consider verse 26. How do we reconcile our differences if we simply "forget" and try to live as if there were no wrongs done? Obviously we need to talk over an issue if there is an accusation and a need for stating one's innocence.

And what about a person who is still haunted by his/her childhood? Is there true recovery from abuse if we rush past the memories and try to forget? Are we trying too hard to hurry up and forgive? Can we forgive completely when we haven't first looked at the depth of the damage done? Is that even possible? Or can we forgive without forgetting? I hope so!!! Sara Groves sings these words "And I'm not God; I'm a girl. I confess that I don't have a sea of forgetfulness."

So what does it mean to forget the past? I have read that when Joseph said "...God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household;" he wasn't saying that he couldn't remember what happened, but that he was canceling the debt! Still, I am not sure if the word forget in verse 19 means to cancel the debt...especially since the last half says "do not dwell on the past." So, should we forget or review? Like so many other passages of scripture, there seems to be a yes/no/both apply conundrum. I find that oddly comforting sometimes. If there is more than one answer to a question, then we as finite humans cannot hit each other over the head with one verse to prove our point!

So today I am embracing both of these verses...and hoping that God will show me when and where to apply each.