The Path of Our Life
The twist and turns of life...though not unexpected, they really never come at a convenient time or do they? We are not promised an easy life. As a believer, scriptures teach us that life won't be easy. It has taken me a long time to understand that these times are sometimes meant to refine us and teach us, but then we have the times that are because of our own negative choices and that is when I am really, really grateful for grace.
My faults are growing pains are many, but in His great love, they are the things that have shaped me, stretched me and pushed me to be more in His image. I think it is normal for people to have those random kind of conversations. What if you won the lottery...etc. In a recent conversation, the question, "If you could change anything about your past or take something back, what would it be?".
Let's just take a moment and be honest. I have a flood of things that I have said and done that I wish I would have been different. The thing is, in the big picture of it, taking something back would have probably down a completely different path and that means I would not be who I am as I sit here and type and that is not what I want. So my answer always is nothing. Every bad decision, wrong words and uh-oh moment has led me to grow, change and learn. Isn't that the point of the walk?
Even before I was a believer, those actions, words and paths led me to the moment where I realized how much I deeply needed Him. If one of those things had been different, would my path to Him taken longer? Would I have my husband and children? These are the things that I don't want to be different so taking away a part of my life, even if it was just a small moment, could take away the things that are most precious.
Sure, there are times that would have been easier, better decisions made, relationships not tested, but a part of my growth, understanding and change would be missing.
Regret is a heavy thing. It can lead to a path of shame and guilt and that is something the enemy desires for us because it allows him to get a stronghold into our life and that can pull us farther away from the love, acceptance, grace and forgiveness that comes from the beautiful and amazing relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. This is a relationship that I never want to lose.
I spent years living in shame and guilt. There are some days a trigger pops up and those feelings come rushing back like they had never left and sometimes it takes me a few days to completely pull out of it, but He is always there to remind me of His forgiveness and that in my trust and faith in Him, those things have been cast and forgotten.
Forgiveness is a powerful thing. Forgiveness that comes from Him allows us to be healed and allows us to grow and move through life with a purpose and a hope.
Forgiveness from others has the power to restore, build bridges and fill in broken cracks.
Forgiveness that you give is one of the most freeing and powerful things we have. It not only heals and potentially releases another from pain, but it is what releases us from a life of bitterness, potential regrets and helps us really grow.
My path of life has been full of twists and turn, hills and valleys, sometimes straight and sometimes a little bumpy, but it is my path. It is my journey. With Him, I find that the journey may be long, but the hope in the waiting, the peace in the trials and the grace that finds me day after day makes the journey worth it. A life without Him is no life at all and the path of that kind of life leads to emptiness and a hole that nothing can ever fill. Without Him, life has no meaning. I would rather follow a path with meaning then a path with nothing.
