These Regrets

"I don't regret anything because everything I've been through helped make me the person I am today."

Have you ever heard anyone say that?
Good for them.

But I don't always feel that way.

I do have regrets---regrets that twist my heart and trigger laments:

"If only I had been wiser..."
"If only I had realized my worth..."
"If only I could go back and do that over..."
"If only I had known then what I know now..."

I've had times when I felt mired in regret, caught in its circular cycle of anguish.

But . . .

"I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us."

That single line of song lyrics has often been my rescue when I felt like regret would surely drown me. I wonder if the writer imagined those seventeen words might actually stop someone from sinking further into remorse and make a u-turn towards hope instead.

Those words I sing describe what I want: a love so unconditional and powerful that it not only forgives me but helps me forgive myself, a love so life-changing that the pull of things I wish I had done differently seems not quite so strong.

I don't want to waste time fueling regrets when He has wiped them away and placed greater priorities in front of me.