From Regrets to Triumphs
Think about the worst thing you have ever done. Can you picture it? I'm sure that you can recall the most minute details about your choices, and how they affected the course of your life. I would be willing to bet that you still think about it from time to time. The enemy loves to remind us of our failures, no matter how big or how small. It's one of his notorious tactics.
An important question is…do you regret those things?
One study found that 82% of Americans expressed experiencing regret at some point in their lives, but I honestly think the remaining 8% are either lying or in denial. I have definitely struggled with regret in my life, and I know that puts me in the majority. I sometimes wallow in my regrets, putting myself down and feeling bad about choices that I've made in the past. Some of them are in the distant past, but often regret begins the moment we make a bad choice! Sometimes I spend too much time in that place of regret, which feels like a barren place of waste until I look up. I look up from my place of remorse and see the fruitfulness in my life--the life that was redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb! I see how far God has brought me, and how He created beauty in my mess. He took me from a broken, physically abused mother of two with low self-esteem, to a wife of a hard-working and loving man, with four beautiful girls and a life filled with confidence and joy. I will never cease to wonder at His good plans that exist even in the middle of our mistakes.
The journey is not always going to be perfect, and you will probably feel discouraged more than you feel encouraged, but it doesn't change the fact that every journey is a beautiful one. You might not always understand the plotline during the unfolding of the story, but based on how far you have come so far, I know it is going to be AMAZING. I have faith in you because I have faith in the One who saves us!
Here is the deal: There is no time in life to have regrets of any kind. Do you hear me? Life is too short to highlight all the wrongs when there is just too much stinking good to focus on instead! The only time we should be referencing past mistakes is to help us make better choices and also to remember that no matter how bad we mess up, God's good plans for you are far bigger than your little screw-ups. Don't forget that His plans for you are so detailed that He created alternate pathways of blessing for every potential mistake!
That's life, baby girl! The good news is that Jesus knows exactly where you are coming from. He lived it too. Rejection. Pain. Loss. Betrayal. Yeah, He knows. And He's rooting for you.
Don't ever, ever underestimate what God is doing and how He can use every tear and heartache and still create something beautiful. There truly is beauty in the ashes, but maybe you can't quite see it yet. Everything is coming together the way it should be. Don't worry...soon He will shake those ashes off of your long lashes, and you will see His goodness right in front of you with an unhindered view!
It's not about the wrong choices you have made, it's about how God still saved you anyway. He never left your side, even when you ran as far away as you could from Him. He's patient, girl. He understands and He wants to be gentle with you. There are no conditions to his love, and the Holy Spirit is a gentleman!
If you are a parent, think about how much love you have for your child. Don't you want the best for them? Don't they make mistakes? And don't you love them anyway? You'll do whatever you need to do for your child. In the same way, you belong to God. Before you were even born, He was excited because He already knew that you would play an important role in this beautiful plan of His! You have a purpose, and He needs you here to be a light to those around you.
Be a leader, just like Jesus. He came to show you how to live. He is the number one mentor. He won't leave you and He has given you exactly what you need. He came so that you won't have to live with any regrets. Each ugly valley you walked through served a purpose and ultimately brought you closer to God. He allowed it to happen so that you can fulfill your purpose and be happy no matter where you are in life. With Him, you can still experience joy, even when the circumstances aren't favorable.
I hope you live today like it could be the last sentence of your book. How will you spend it? Will you spend it complaining about what has already happened? Will you spend it worrying about the future and the things you can't control?
Or will you live it with joy and gratitude? I pray that you see how God is blessing you today and you can clearly see what you need to do...just for today. Don't focus on tomorrow, He will be there to guide you then, too. Live excitedly about the life you live no matter where you are on your journey because you'll have the peace of knowing that God is working in your favor! And His works are pretty darn miraculous!
