What Are You Writing?

Have you ever watched a show or movie and been hit with a spiritual lesson despite the fact that the show or movie is not necessarily Christian-based?  It happened to me just the other day.  While the show is very clean and speaks highly of church and God, I wouldn't call it a Christian show (although I guess by today's standards, it's pretty close).

Anyway, a conversation was taking place between two of the characters, and the lady was voicing her disappointment and regret over things she had done.  The man (who, as it turns out, was a bad guy) uttered this profound statement:  "There is no turning back.  Life is written in permanent ink, so turn the page and write something new."  Bam!  Yep, a heavenly slap found its way to the back of my head, and in a gentle whisper, the Lord said, "Did you catch that, Dana?"

May I let you in on a little secret?  I'm not perfect.  I know, I know, it's hard to believe.  After all, I serve the Lord with such fervor and I daily illustrate my mountain-sized faith.  Certainly I don't have any regrets, right?  Actually, I'm going to stop now before lightning strikes me where I sit.  The sad fact is that I have many regrets.  I regret things that I've done and the things that I didn't do when I should have.  I regret making stupid decisions and rash judgments.  I regret spending money I didn't have and not saving money when the Lord provided.  I regret the time that I've wasted on fruitless pursuits that led me further away from God's will for my life.

Yes, my friend, when I look back on my life, I definitely have regrets.  And, as the character so adequately put it, those many mistakes are written in permanent ink.  There is nothing I can do now to fix them.  I can't take back the words I spoke.  I can't erase the deeds I've done.  They are a part of my life, no matter how much I wish I could change them.

But the point is that my story doesn't end there.  Yes, I've made mistakes.  No, I can't change my past, but my future is a series of blank pages (at least from my viewpoint, not God's, of course).  So, I can spend my time dwelling on the past, which I can't change, or I can spend that time writing something new.  Those blank pages beckon to me, pleading with me to fill them with words of joy, hope and comfort.  They implore me to make the end of my story better than the beginning.  I needn't dwell on the mistakes.  Instead, I need to be busy writing the rest of my story, and so do you.

Are you writing something new today, or are you spending all your time re-reading the mistakes and crushed dreams of yesterday?  Which do you think God wants you to do?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14