IF ONLY…
Is this you?
If only I had not said that. If only I did not do that. If only didn’t get drunk and cause that terrible accident. I should not have cheated on my spouse. Why did I waste all that money? Why did I goof up and lose my job? I should have never tried to do that deal. Why didn’t I listen to Ron? If only I could turn back the clock, I would do it all different; but I can’t! It’s done and now I can’t change it.
“Life is a learning experience. All you can do is learn from your mistakes, but you can’t go back in time.”
–Amy Dumas
WHAT NOW?
If you are milking a cow and the cow kicks over the bucket, you can cry over the spilled milk, or, you can milk another cow. Probably everyone reading this article wishes you could turn back the clock and change something in your past that you regret even to this day. Many people go all their life defeated by past mistakes and failures; sadly because they are not willing to deal with it, and pay the price to settle up and move on. Costly mistakes require costly solutions, but they are not the end of the world.
“One day you will sit quietly in a quiet place and think about your past! The avalanche of your past mistakes will come and fall on you! If you are a weak person, you will be crushed under this avalanche; if you are a strong person, you will laugh at your past and continue on your way!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
BITTER OR BETTER?
So you have a choice. You can be bitter because of your past mistakes, or you can mature and grow stronger and better with new insight they afford you. Sure, it will not be easy but you will be stronger than you have ever been when you come through it. And not only that but will prepare you to guide many others who suffer because of their past.
After all, God didn’t put you on planet earth just to live unto yourself, but to impact and enrich the lives of others.
“Everyone says that you should live like there is no tomorrow, but I think it’s even more important to live like there is no yesterday. Your future means so much more than your past.” ― John A. Ashley
THE WAY OUT
King David in the Bible found out that sin takes you farther than you want to go, costs you more than you want to pay, and keeps you longer than you want to stay. Yes, he paid dearly! And yet, the Bible declares that he was “a man after God’s own heart.” Why? Because when confronted with his sin, he acknowledged it, repented, and restored his fellowship with the Lord. And out of the depth of those dark experiences he was able to write many of the Psalms that have encouraged millions even until now.
I may not know what you are going through now, but I can assure you that God has a wonderful plan for your life. Trust Christ to be your Savior, read your Bible and it will become clear to you what that plan is.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have arrived: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14
Great article Dave!