What has regret taught you?

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead

Philippians 3:13

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Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland

If you live long enough you will probably live through something that sooner or later you regret. Maybe it’s something that you regret the next day or maybe it’s something that takes years for you to look back and realize that if you would have done something different, then maybe you would have a different outcome. Regret can create such a heavy and guilty feeling too. “If only….I would have gone back to school…said no to this person…said yes to this opportunity…stayed here…left there…etc.” Yet, if you could look back on your life maybe you could see the things that these regrets have taught you… There are many people that say that they “don’t regret” anything because it was all a lesson, but was it really? How many times do we really use our regrets as a lesson? I think more than anything it’s important to look at our regrets and ask ourselves what we regret and why? And what can we do different today? What’s something that will help us grow from our regrets to do better today and tomorrow? I think we have to accept that as humans we are always going to make mistakes and fall short. We are never going to be perfect. As much as we can show our “best selves” to the world, we all know our own hidden insecurities, fears, weaknesses, and yes we will fall short, but if we learn from our regrets we might be able to create a tomorrow that we are proud of. Regrets happen as we live through life, make mistakes, and yearn for a certain outcome, but we shouldn’t let it hold us in a place of self contempt, instead we should look at it as a lesson for today and tomorrow. Ask yourself these questions:

What do I regret?

Why do I regret it?

What can I do to grow from this regret?

We can’t change the past, we can only try to do better today. Live your life with God as your guidance and protection, let Him lead you into a life where there might be some regrets, but at least you are living fully and know that God has got your back no matter what you do. Live your life happily loving those around you and growing from those regrets, just like the scripture says focus on what lies ahead and forget the past. God loves you and has got your back.