"There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future." St. Augustine

St. Augustine was talking from personal experience. His past pre-conversion was not praise worthy. He was a man of the world, seeking his happiness in the things of this world. He had his mistresses and even fathered a child out of wed-lock. But then came the defining moment in his life, when God became the most important relationship in his life. From then on nothing else mattered but God. "My heart is restless, O Lord, until it rests in you." His search for happiness was rooted in his relationship with his Lord and Savior. What does this say to you and me? Our past does not define us. Living in the relationship with God does. The Evil One wants us to live in the past in the bondage of shame and guilt and defeat. God wants us to live in the present in the freedom as his adopted son or daughter in love with gratitude and hope.