But when we focus too much on the past we flirt with twin dangers – nostalgia and regret. We can idolize the past, enshrine it as a time that was happier, holier, and all round better than now; or we can curse the past - ruminate on mistakes we made, decisions we blew, sins we committed. And those two roads are dead ends. It doesn’t matter which one of them you pick – they will both distract from seeing God now, make you fearful about the future, and depress your mood.