Regrets

I am truly not much of a golfer. My handicap is the way I play. Nonetheless, I love the game. I particularly enjoy playing a scramble, where you get to play the best shot of your team and you have the opportunity to use a Mulligan (a do over). Wouldn't it be great life were like that, where our mistakes could be mitigated by our team's efforts and in a pinch get a do over?

It would be great but it's not how life works. We can be part of a team like husband and wife or larger family in which we help one another but we still "reap what we sow" (Gal 6:7) and going back for a redo just isn't possible. We may be able to do something over but the original mistake still stands as a part of our history that may forever alter our future. Some things can't be done over at all (i.e.  Lost time with our kids).

In life, we all have things we regret, things we wish we could do over but no Mulligans are give no do overs possible. Our only choices are to live with the regret or live beyond it. What I mean is that we can carry the regret into each new day or we can relegate it to our past, using it as a learning opportunity for making better choices in the future. 

Jesus tells us that "each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34).  We have enough to deal with each day, taking on the worries of tomorrow or the regrets of the past causes over-load and depresses our spirit, which may lead to spiritual, mental, emotional and/or physical impairment due to excessive stress. 

Here's the deal: While we will reap what we sow, we don't have to keep planting the same thing. We don't have to live continually with past choices and mistakes. While it may not be possible to get forgiveness from everyone, we need to always seek and accept God's forgiveness, which will require we forgive ourselves as well.  The need is to forgive and forget - forgive yourself and forget your regrets. Jus' Say'n. 

Regrets serve no good purpose other than a launching pad to better behavior, better choices and better relationships -especially our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God doesn't give us more than we can handle in a day but we can pile on more by dredging up the past and borrowed wing from the future than we can