Regret.

That’s a fun one, isn’t it? I think regret is one of the most destructive emotions and thought processes we can have. I’ve only recently realized to what degree I have lived with it.

The problem with regret is that it’s a dead-end street. It goes absolutely nowhere, because we can’t change the past, so if we choose to go down that road we’ll be stuck.

Also, regret forces us to ask “what if” questions and make “if only” statements. The truth is that we have no idea what if or if only…we have no idea what would have happened if we had done something differently. Things may or may not have been better (I’m talking in the realm of everyday life choices here, not huge life altering ones).

Personally, I have relationship regrets that I can’t repair or make right and it hurts my heart; however, I know that I can’t stay in that place. It is not God’s will that I stay there.

He gave Himself so that all things could be made new…the greater things, like all of creation, and the smaller things, like me and you. While I still have a long way to go, I’m not the same as I was a few years ago. I really have grown. It’s okay to acknowledge that.

It is imperative that we don’t define ourselves by mistakes, failures and shortcomings. We need to choose to walk in what He is doing in us today instead of whatever mess we made yesterday. Walk out of that mess.

Ultimately, regret leaves no room for the grace of God. It refuses it, actually. What a waste!

Grace covers everything. It really does.

Love covers a multitude of sins. It really does.

Let your regrets drive you into God’s grace and trust Him to make you new, to teach you to love better, to help you live life to the full, without regret, to conform you into the image of Christ.

Regret is a dead end street. If you’re there make a u-turn 🙂