A number of years ago I acquired a companion that took up residence with me without permission and with very little prior warning. Since then there have been very few days when I have not felt its presence, sometimes to an alarming degree. The curious thing is just how adept I have become at adapting to this intrusive presence. Distraction is good, so I make music or paint or read, and for a while I forget - until I get up and and all hell breaks loose in my back!

I find that I do this with my soul as well, too often in truth. I distract myself from the things that have not been dealt with and then suddenly, something or someone happens, past experience regains the power to spoil my present and I try to go forward, looking in the rear-view mirror. This pain, this stabbing truth, is very sobering. The term "victorious living" must surely refer to a life lived in that space where the Holy Spirit is allowed to correct and guide, no matter what. And HE deals with sting of memory.