Living With Regret

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 2 Corinthians 7:8 

  

  To be human is to have regrets. If someone were to ask you if you have any regrets there are likely several episodes in your life that would come to mind. 

  We would all like to have “do overs”. We wish we could turn back the clock and get a chance to do many things over again. It can be hard to let go of past mistakes and this leaves us with regrets. 

  Being human, having weaknesses, and prone to faults, we must allow room for the faults and weaknesses of others. If regrets do us any good at all, they remind us of our shortcomings which can make us more patient with others when they wrong us, or wrong those we love and care about. 

  Life gives us ample opportunity to fail in many ways. Humility enables us to put our failings into perspective, and to add perspective to the shortcomings of those around us. 

  When I think back about the things I wish I had said, or more importantly, wish I had not said. When I add up careless acts, or thoughtless inaction, I can become discouraged about how far I have to go as a child of God.  

  Perhaps the best thing we can do besides giving our regrets to God is focusing upon the path before us and making sure our regrets are fewer and further apart. Let’s start adding up our successes, and shrinking our regrets as we grow wiser and more discerning with time. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to let go of our regrets, and do our best to avoid adding more regrets to the list. Thank You Jesus for forgiving us, and helping us to be wiser and more patient when it comes to our failings and those of others. Amen.