Googling the past

There was a time, not so long ago, when the past was the past.
Relationships were declared over, and they were. Simply done.

Enter the Internet. Google. Facebook, MySpace. Reunion.Com. An endless supply of information.
A plethora of potential.

Here you have the opportunity to connect with the long lost friend, the former teacher, mentor, tormentor, the misc. relatives, one that could have been ...

Come on, admit it. You have Googled the names. The friendships gone bad. Relationships better left done. His name. Her name. Their names together. Some nights the curiosity is too much. You are swept away in the past, the what was. The what could have been.

Perhaps it is the recent milestone. Maybe it has caused me to wonder about all of those who were. It has been decades instead of mere years. It feels safe to wonder now. To know now. I am softer, surely they must be as well.

It starts out easy and innocent. Just the wondering what they are up to now. Kids or not. Partner or not. Job or not. Success. You just want to know.

The you start to type the letters ... T, o, m* ... you hit enter and pow! There they are. A picture. A city. An address. A wife/husband/partner. Kids, job, hobbies ... all there. Wonder no more. Now you have knowledge.

And yet you still wonder. How are they really? And, come on, what you really want to know is; do they still think of you? Do they still harbor ill feelings or is it safe to talk? To connect.

It is simple really, just the click of a button and you can be "friends" ... you can start over. It's tempting isn't it? Reconnecting with the past.

It doesn't hurt anything ... anyone.

Except it can. Can't it? Isn't there a reason that things are in the past? A reason that the one that got away, well, got away.

There is something to be said for moving on. Even more to be said for staying in the present.

Just more random thoughts today.

Nettie

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58