Digging in my bone yard

I used to go to the butcher and get bones for our dog Angel.  What a treat. She’d take one firmly from my grasp and go to her favorite spot in the yard, chewing on it for several hours.

Afterwards, she would head deep into the forest surrounding our home, burying it in some hidden trove. I don’t recall ever seeing her go back to retrieve the bones she had buried.  Angel seemed to have no need for old bones.





That got me thinking about “bone digging” and things buried in the past. I have this tendency, if I’m not careful, to go to my own personal bone yard and dig up the old nasty disgusting bones of long ago issues—things that are really better off buried and forgotten.

Forgetting the old bones
Once unearthed, the bone of contention is again on display for reruns of all the bad feelings. Quite a few things fit in this category: lost dreams, broken hearts, poor choices, harsh words, worthless arguments. You get the idea.

When I was younger, my arguments could be classified as prize fights. It was all about winning. I have lots of old argument bones buried in my bone yard.  I’ve since learned that arguments don’t need volume or harshness. All those old arguments have been settled, forgiven and I should really leave them buried.

Yet, it’s easy to go bone digging when I need to prove a point, rehash some disappointment, or just feel sorry for myself. Some bones expose other’s faults, but mostly they expose mine.

Angel was smart to leave her old bones buried.  Since my “bones” are the tough knocks, scrapes and failings, then I should learn from them —then go ahead and bury them and forget them.  If God says he won’t remember them, why should I?




“I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!” 
Jeremiah 31:34 Message Bible




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