Rich Dixon is here for the new year.

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Let’s let go of last year with one of my favorite verses in Scripture.

“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?”

I’ve used it many times when I speak, and often I pause at the first two lines.

How cool would it be if we could follow that guidance? How different would our lives be if we could just forget the former things, all the garbage and junk Jesus has forgiven, and stop dwelling on it?

I ask the question because, if you’re like me, it’s easier said than done. One of those ideals that doesn’t always make the trip from my head to my heart.

And then I think about the kids at the Home of Hope and all the trauma they’ve endured. Not only what they’ve experienced themselves, but the horrific, unimaginable things they’ve witnessed at such a tender age.

If it’s this hard for me to let go of my past, how much more difficult must it be for them?

Beth Grant, one of Project Rescue’s founders, often says it’s much easier to take a girl out of the brothel than it is to take the brothel out of a girl.

I think I understand that.

It’s why Jesus-centered restoration is such an important part of what happens at the Home of Hope. Little boys and girls don’t just suddenly forget and stop dwelling on those past experiences, any more than big boys and girls like you and me.

I’ll be honest – sometimes at church, when everybody is smiling and perfect, I feel awfully out of place. I feel like I’m wearing a mask, terrified that someone might see behind it.

Anybody else?

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Next time, we’ll talk about the last two lines.