I suppose that we all have things that we regret in our life. In my life, like many of yours, I feel as though I’ve had my fair share of heartache, heartbreak and also my share of joyous moments, huge wins and blissful travels. That only leaves a few things to truly regret.
I am not sure where this quote came from, but it’s a great look at our regrets: “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.”
And so it is true for me as well. I don’t regret many of things that I have done, but I desperately regret the four things below that I did NOT DO.
- I regret not spending more time with my Mom and Dad in the last years of their lives. The old Harry Chapin song “Cat’s in the Cradle” was accurate for both me and my dad. I’d love to have a chat with him and mom this week. Heaven will be the next chat and so many things simply won’t matter then. But this one thing will, I Love You, Mom and Dad.
- I regret not praying more with my daughters. Don’t get me wrong, we prayed at every meal. We prayed when we dropped them off at school and we prayed at night. But I wasn’t very good at teaching them to pray and allowing them to see their Daddy as a praying Daddy. My heart breaks as a result of that regret. I can still do that, both with them and my grandchildren. How about you?
- I regret the way I spent most of my life without gratitude. In my desire to achieve more, make more, be more and become something, I never truly became a grateful man until I was in my 50’s. I spend time every morning in quietude and gratitude. Don’t wait as I did to become grateful. It will change your attitude, your altitude, and your personhood.
- I regret not answering God’s call to vocational ministry until I was in my late 30’s. I simply didn’t want to live in the world of preachers, and honestly, I still struggle occasionally. I wanted to make a lot of money. build a platform of human recognition and succeed wildly. Once I became a Pastor, I discovered so many benefits of being in the center of God’s will for my life. Of all the regrets, this is the one that I pray you will take away from today’s blog. Don’t wait for the Divine to drag you into His will, run to it today!
Welcome back to the work world today. It’s been a great weekend.
–AChuck
