Regret

The Free Dictionary.com defines regret as:

v.tr.

1. To feel sorry, disappointed, or distressed about.

2. To remember with a feeling of loss or sorrow; mourn.

v.intr.

To feel regret.

n.

1. A sense of loss and longing for someone or something gone.

2. A feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different.

Each one of us deals with some sort of regret about something in our lives. Perhaps it's a mistake we made when we were younger. We can wish all day long that particular incident was different; that you'd made a different choice. Yet all the wishing in the world will not take it away. Neither will self-condemnation.

I've got quite a few regrets under my belt. There are times I'm a little embarrassed to tell someone from my past that I'm a Christian romance author. Why? Because of some infraction I've committed that they'll remember. Oh goodness, just ask my mother-in-law. Scary, I'm telling you!

In fact, I've found that the longer I live, the more regrets I rack up. Not because I'm necessarily stupid, but because...well...I'm human. And we all know what that means. Human = mistakes! 

But, let's reflect for a moment. Can worrying about something in our past erase it from our history? Absolutely not. You can pretend it never happened, but all the pretending in the world won't take it away. It's still there. The only options I see? Ask for forgiveness and move on. Get up. Admit you're wrong, brush yourself off, and keep going. This may seem a little simple, but really it's not. We humans have a tendency to remember every mistake (whether it's our own or someone else's) and that is what keeps us down. It impairs our ability to move forward. 

I've got a news flash for you.

You're going to make mistakes. In fact, some of your friends are going to make mistakes. They're going to let you down. Someone is *going* to hurt your feelings ~ whether intentional or not ~ it's going to happen. 

My advice? Consult your Bible. Read it. Pray over the situation. And if you have a problem with regretting things, ask God to help you get over it. Why? 

So you can move forward.

Do you see this picture? (ignore the fuzzy die...)

This is a rearview mirror. 

And rearview mirrors have one job. 

To show what's behind you.

And we need to be looking ahead.

Not the past.

So next time you're tempted to concentrate on the past, remember the rearview mirror. Its only job is to give you a *small* glimpse of what's already behind. Why is this important?

James 4:14 

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Next time you feel someone has done you wrong, don't waste time on holding grudges and heaping up regrets while you stew about it, let it go. Pray about it. 

Because we're only here for a little while.

Only one life will soon be past

Only what's done for Christ will last.