Be an OVERCOMER, not a perpetual VICTIM in your life. Revelation 21:5~ And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” John 20:21-23~ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

These verses remind me that forgiveness, restoration, and victory are possible no matter your history, no matter the circumstance. I’ve seen people with horrible beginnings piece together what’s left, the best they know how, to make a better life for themselves and their kids. It’s not a perfect life but it’s better than the one they had. Every generation can get better this way. But I’ve also seen people who choose to remain a victim. In some ways it’s easier to live this way. Perpetual victims get to continue blaming someone/ everyone for the way they are. They don’t have to take any responsibility. They are easy to spot because most of their relationships end up broken, they are bitter and hardened, and they are never wrong. They scream for apologies but then won’t accept them, because that would mean, well, moving forward. The reality is, it’s not apologies they want. What they truly want is to remain the benefactor of guilt or pity, because that brings with it it’s own comforts and excuses. Being an overcomer doesn’t negate the difficulties someone has experienced; It’s a mindset that turns your focus forward and not behind, it moves you toward a better future and away from a broken past. Perpetual victims stay stuck in their childhood pain, or the pain from a broken marriage, or the difficulties from any season of life. They don’t move forward. They continue to grieve what was lost, whether it be time, love, respect, dignity, opportunity, or maybe even forgiveness. They fail to see that they were always worthy of these things whether they were given them by people or not. They fail to claim them as a child of God, and walk in them and share them with the ones they love. The beautiful thing is, it’s never to late to do this and it isn’t a choice someone else makes for you. It’s one you get to make for yourself, and that’s when you stop being a victim. While we breathe, it’s never too late to start over.

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”