Relapsing into regret

Last November I posted about regrets, how they can haunt us. This week, I find myself not being haunted by regrets but rather by experiencing new regret.

Losing someone

Wednesday I received a text from a friend on my old tennis team that a teammate had died a couple days prior. This past June, I found out said person had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Although we had not kept in touch, I reached out to her via text. We had a nice text exchange that ended with her going to see a new doctor. I meant to follow up with her about the appointment. I never did.

God brought her to my mind again at the end of July, but I was busy and eventually forgot about her. I never mailed her a card, which is something I normally would do, never checked in to say “hi”.

I live with regret alongside some other friends/teammates who failed in this way too. Our teammate was so kind, generous, non-judgy and humble. She had a wonderful family and group of friends. We know she was well loved in her last days but we regret not to be a part of that group.

Death has a way of fostering regrets. It takes away time we thought we had to love on that person, repair something broken, do or say things we put off because we assumed we would have more time. As death strips a person away, it strips away time, making us more aware of all our missed opportunities.

Imperfect beings

Regret reminds us that we are imperfect beings. We speak and behave in ways that cause us regret. God tries to help us out sometimes, tapping us on our shoulder or gently speaking to us. Sometimes we hear Him, sometimes we don’t. Most of the time we continue on our merry way focused on ourselves.

Regret loves to sit with us. It will stay there as long as we allow it to. I have given regret a couple days of my life but I hope that in this writing, I can release it. Most of releasing regret revolves around our own self talk and actions. We choose to forgive ourselves and move forward. We cannot change what we did in the past, but we can change how we move forward starting today.

Food for thought

Is there a relationship in your life that needs mending but you are allowing your pride to not take the first step in mending?

Are there people you’ve thought about but haven’t taken the next step to call or write and say “hi”? Or maybe you are so busy you haven’t thought about anyone but your own schedule?

Do you have a widow or someone mourning the loss of a loved one that you could bring a light into their currently dark corner?

Is there something you know you should do but don’t want to, even though if you do it you know you would be blessing another person?

Is there something/someone you’ve been avoiding because you are afraid? It could be a dream you have or conversation you need to have or any number of things.

Let us encourage one another to not waste the time God gives us, to live a full live without any regrets.

Prayer

Your Word states that whatever we ask for in prayer and believe that we have received it, You will grant. You faithfully forgive us and remember our transgressions no more when when we humbly repent. Help us to do the same, to release regret and forgive ourselves. You gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Mark 11:24, 1John 1:9, 2Timothy 1:7