Some of my favorite childhood memories took place under this old swinging bridge. My sister, cousins, and I waded in the water under the bridge. I learned to swim in the water on the other side of the bridge.

We loved to walk across that bridge. It swayed and bounced like an amusement park ride. It scared me silly, but I always wanted to cross it again … and again … and again.

As I walked across the bridge, I looked down at the water. I didn’t think much about it then, but the water under the bridge kept changing. It flowed down the creek, replaced by new water. That constant movement kept the water fresh and safe.

When anything is water under the bridge,  it has already happened.

It’s over and cannot be changed. Like water that has traveled under a bridge, that experience is past.

In spite of that, we often hang on to the past, not letting it go. We fail to let bygones be bygones. In the process, we make ourselves miserable.

Rather than living in the past, let’s realize the past is water under the bridge.

• We can remember it.
• We can learn from it.
• But we must not dwell on it.

Live in the present. Look forward to the future.

“He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water” (Isaiah 49:10 NIV).

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