Do you remember being a kid and in the middle of playing a game, you would say you wanted a "do over" especially when the outcome wasn't what you expected it to be? I personally remember playing Monopoly with my friends and we would start the game off with much more money than the directions advised because seriously how are we supposed to thrive, buy property, and live with such meager beginnings. Its pretty hilarious now looking back. In life you have a bunch of choices and decisions that reap all types of blessings and consequences. Sometimes you may believe you are doing what is best and it ends up being the wrong choice. Sometimes you don't fully understand why you've made a particular decision but then it ends up working out better than you'd imagined. As much as I would love to say I live my life with no regrets, if I'm honest with myself there are a lot of things I would go back and change if I had the opportunity. I do realize however that most of my mistakes in life were great lessons for me and I gained wisdom through those times. Here are just a few examples (I have MANY more-yes I'm flawed ;): 1. Getting caught shoplifting lip glosses in high school with some friends. OMG!! The consequences to those actions stung for many years, let alone the pure embarrassment of my choice. 2. Not being the least bit prepared for an important interview I had in college. I think about the wasted time I experienced and the sadness I felt when rightfully so I didn't get accepted. 3. Making immature financial decisions the 1st couple of years of my marriage. Lesson quickly but painfully learned and it has a way of affecting you longer than you expect. If you are like me you can probably think of some past areas in your life that if you truly understood the lasting outcomes of those "not so well thought out decisions" you may have taken a DO OVER in a heartbeat. Maybe it was a relationship you wouldn't have entertained, a job you would have gone after, a purchase you might have skipped, something you said that you would take back, property you would have invested in years ago (NASHVILLE PEOPLE!!! lol), etc. The joy of being a follower of God is that He, essentially is the master of granting "do overs." The best part is that He wipes our slates clean when we ask for forgiveness. Let’s look at a few scriptures... If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 It is I who sweep away your transgressions, for my own sake, and remember your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 There are many scriptures on God’s love, guidance, and forgiveness for us. Although we aren't humanly capable of forgetting our past 100% with that Godly "perfect clean slate", we can hopefully learn from those mistakes in order to make better choices for the future. That interview I embarrassingly botched earlier, two years later I had another opportunity to interview again and that time I was very prepared, professional, and got accepted! The mess we had immaturely made out of our finances was a wake up call to view finances and debt completely differently. Its still a working process with bumps along the road, but I'm thankful for lessons learned along the way EVEN if sometimes it was a slow and painful process. I'm most grateful for God and all the "do overs" He's helped me through.
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September 2017
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