Now that I am up in my years of living on this earth, I often wonder what would have happened if I had tried some things differently. I feel that most of you are like me and wonder the same thing.
I like to reminisce about the days of my youth, my days of playing sports, going to school, and going to church. Don’t get me wrong. I have had a wonderful life and have been very blessed by the Lord through my parents, my siblings, and my friends. I have had good job opportunities, a good education, and amazing friendships through the churches I worshipped at. However, I sometimes wonder if I had done something different, would my life be as it is today.
If I had not joined the Air Force in 1967 and met a girl on a blind date, would I have enjoyed a tremendous marriage to my amazing wife of over 50+ years? What if I had been drafted by the Army instead of joining the Air Force, would my life have gone in a different direction? Would I have missed out on raising four wonderful, God-fearing children who have made my wife and me extremely proud of their accomplishments and giving us ten wonderful grandchildren?
What if I had studied harder and applied myself more in school? What if I had not lost my confidence in my ability to play sports and possibly signed a scholarship? What if I had not listened to a good friend at church one Sunday when he offered me a job in the newspaper industry? Where would I be today?
My life has been great, but there have been some times when it wasn’t so good. I have had many failures on things I really wanted but the Lord said “No.” He has allowed me to try things in the past and allowed me to learn from my mistakes. Most of you are like me and we try to hold on to some of these bad memories when we should let them go.
Most of our past is like driving a car and many of us only focus on our rearview mirror. We tend to remember our failures instead of focusing on our accomplishments. When we tend to let the failures of the past consume our attention, we are either going to have an accident or simply stop our car because we can’t see what is ahead of us. Every day when you wake up, tell God thank you for another day of life and ask Him to guide you through it. Look forward and not backward.
We are told by the great prophet in Isaiah 43:18, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.”
As I have grown older, I realize every day is a gift. I thank the Lord for my past and the sweet memories; however, I do not let it consume my time for the future. Being a Christian and knowing where I am going to spend eternity means more to me than anything this world has to offer. Knowing that my wife, children, and grandchildren know Jesus personally gives me the satisfaction of knowing that they will be with Jesus also. Our future is secure!
The only regret I have from my past is did I talk to enough people about the saving grace of our Lord and Savior? If not, I still have today to tell those around me that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
