Be on the lookout. A pet kangaroo has escaped. No, this is not a post from Australia. The plea comes out of Carroll County, Indiana. Rumor has it that the marsupial was witnessed eating at IHOP.

     Kangaroos are curious creatures. Most kangaroos are left-handed and flex their pecs to impress the girls. Kangaroos do not sweat, which is a real bummer with respect to cooling down in the oppressive Outback heat.

     Most interestingly, Kangaroos cannot move backward because their tail is so large and muscular. King George V granted the Commonwealth of Australia a Coat of Arms that features a kangaroo and emu as symbols of a nation that always is moving forward, not backward.

     Isaiah the prophet encouraged the Jewish people to look toward the future, rather than the past. “Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history” (Isaiah 43:18, CEB). Israel had experienced a particularly rough stretch of time. The memories of suffering and oppression were seared into the memories of the entire nation. Yet Isaiah encouraged his countrymen and women to look forward through the windshield of hope rather than backward into the rearview mirror of shame and regret.

     As a pastoral counselor, I believe that we cannot begin the next chapter of life if we continually are  re-reading the last one. Don’t get me wrong. No one should ignore what the lessons of the past can teach us to avoid repeating the same mistakes over and again. Isaiah’s point is that we do not allow yesterday to take up too much of today.

     For some, this kind of action will require assistance from a trained therapist. For others, the desire to move forward will demand a good measure of forgiveness. That is receiving forgiveness for an indiscretion you committed or offering forgiveness to one who has acted indiscreetly toward you.

     For a kangaroo, moving forward is a must. For the rest of us, looking ahead is a choice. My prayer is that you put your own tail behind you, take a step, and proceed onward.