If Only

One of the things which I encounter often when speaking with people, is guilt about something or someone in our past. It is amazing to me how often the subject comes up! Maybe as you look at your past, there isn’t much to brag about. Maybe you have seen some violent times. Maybe you’ve been the victim. And now you have to make a choice. Do you rise above the past and make a difference? Or, do you remain controlled by the past and offer excuses? Many of us choose to emotionally and mentally retire to the nursing home of the heart. Ever been there? Folks who reside here have their fair share of emotional hurts, failures and pain. We spend our days rocking back and forth in chairs of regret. Our favorite phrase is, “If only…!” (sigh) “If only I had been born somewhere else.” “If only I had been treated fairly.” Maybe you use those words. Maybe you’ve used them in the past. Maybe you have the right to use them. But none of us have to be held in bondage to our past. Many of us have been victimized by a myriad of things in the past, yet we have also learned to rise above those things. We have discovered a Savior who is the champion of those whose past may be less than respectable. I cherish what the Bible says, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us.” (I John 1:9) Can we do anything about an “if only I’d” anyway?