Live Without Regret

“It is the things I have left undone which haunt me far more than I have done.” –Madeleine L. Engle

Live without regret. Hopefully, we will all live in such a way that, looking back, we have no regrets. But if you are anything like me, your life is far from perfect and you have made mistakes. Many, many mistakes. I regret so many things…I regret not saying anything, but instead being timid, quiet, and afraid. I regret not working hard enough. Not giving life everything. I regret time that I lost. I regret being lazy, worried, and stressed. I regret giving up, playing it safe, and staying in the background. I regret not trusting. I regret doing too much and not enough. Not loving with everything I have. Not believing. Not forgiving. Not learning. Not seeing. Not hearing. Not praying. Not feeling. Not rejoicing. Not saying no. I regret sin and doubt and cowardice.

When I think back on my life…all the mistakes I made…all the things I didn’t do. I feel worthless. Useless. Dirty. Broken. Heavy. I grieve over the things I have not done as well as the things I have done. I feel the weight of every sin, every word I said, everything left unsaid…undone. Burying me. Crushing me. Suffocating me. Just not doing bad is not good enough. It’s not enough to remove the bad from my life…I must fill myself up with good: love, joy, peace, forgiveness, knowledge, wisdom, self-control, boldness, belief. I want to live in such a way that when people look at my life, it doesn’t make sense without Christ.

God has removed all of that weight from my shoulders. He saw every bad thing I did. He saw every good thing I didn’t do. He saw everything and forgave me still. Not because I deserve it-because I don’t- but because He loves me. He saw something in me-in every one of us-that was worth saving. So He sent His son, Jesus, to carry the weight that I couldn’t. To die so I wouldn’t have to. Now I am not burdened with regret. I am free. Free of regret. Free of sin. I am no longer a slave to my laziness, cowardice, mistakes, desires, and fears. That person I used to be died. Forever. Now, I belong to God.

With God you too can live without regret.