Old Wounds

I found a quote today whilst reading things I've written in the past. I remember which of my friends inititally posted it on his blog, although I don't follow it anymore. I was actually just talking to my roommate about him the other day. This guy has made some unsuspecting impacts on my life, despite us never having been what anyone would consider "close." Funny how life works like that, sometimes; people and your memories of them seem to come and go like on the interstate. And sometimes acquaintances you don't necessarily spend a lot of time with can help you in myriads of ways. I'm thinking of another person who's done that for me over the past 4 years. Oddly enough, a lot of the people I'm now thinking of who this applies to evoke a memory of red.

Anyway, here's what I found particularly poignant about this quote for me today (grammar and punctuation improved):

One thing I am proud of and you can rely on dear reader: I will never delete an
old post on this blog. These blogs are a reflection of my thoughts at the time I
post them; a record or a history. To delete one would be to try to alter history
just because I feel differently now. If you go back to my earliest
blogs...there will be angry posts with profanity that I am not proud of. But
for the sake of keeping this record of me, I will keep them there. If I say
something nice about you, dear reader, and then the next day I decide to get
upset at you, I won't delete that nice thing because...I definitely meant it at
the time (even if I might not feel like saying it again). I think this...keeps
me honest to myself and honest to those of you who read this little window into
my life....I want my children and their children to read these things I write.
To remove an old post would be an insult to them.
Read more

Some more thoughts on this quote have been discovered through electronic contact of a more personal nature:

I hate to think that you confided your thoughts and feelings to your
friends, then you had to delete them for fear of embarrassment. You should
not have to delete your history....I'm sorry...you feel as if you had to
delete your true thoughts at the time in order to protect [someone]. I'm
sorry for not being more careful with you and your feelings.

I enjoy getting to know the darker pasts of people sometimes. I like seeing how people change, always hoping it's for the better. Seeing someone's mistakes, as nasty as they may be, can provide a stark contrast to the good things they've done, which makes those good deeds shine all the brighter. Imagine what the world would be like if the Apostle Paul had kept his persecutory past hidden. Or Alma the Younger and his.

I remember a short road trip I took once that included a man I respected. We stopped at a gas station and he went inside to get a soda or something. I decided after he was inside that I should go in and use the restroom. As I made my way through the store, I saw him in the back aisles, looking at the magazines. I felt a look of disgust come across my face as I saw which of them he picked up and took to the counter. I doubt he saw me because I feel that he wouldn't have made the purchase if he had.
That man made drastic changes in his life; I have been able to do temple work along side of him. Had I not seen that incident occur, I wouldn't know he faced that particular challenge. Knowing he struggled with that helps me to appreciate his worthiness all the more.

People often associate the term "for better or for worse" with a marriage and it's future. I think it includes the past as well and can also be extended to friendship. When you choose to accept someone for any kind of relationship, you choose to accept who they are now along with the better and worse they've done. Rare is the case when I think less of someone because I know of a mistake (or series of mistakes) in their past. (Notice I still don't shun or expel them from my life; I just think less of them.)

What say you, dear reader?

PS: Please follow my lead when it comes to using information that identifies other persons, especially when revealing faults. I don't believe I included any in this posting.