No matter how much we try to know, we don’t know it all. There are always opportunities we can’t see. The Lord is always at work on something we don’t even know needs work. It seems that knowledge, no matter how fervently we chase it, eludes us in some ways.

Relying too heavily on our limited knowledge leaves us with regrets…or at least in the position of having to decide between making choices based on what we know versus what we believe.

Have you had to make a choice that you knew was right but that you thought you would regret? I have. Over and over again.

A long time ago, I turned down a job offer. For a position I’d prayed for for years. Every bit of limited knowledge I had said “make it work,” that this was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. The Lord told me no. When I said yes to Him and no to the offer, I thought I would regret it soon.

The next day, another call came. Another offer. The same kind of position –but somewhere else with better hours and better pay (and what turned out to be amazing people.) And it came with the peace of the Lord.

All I had to do was wait one day. I couldn’t have known what was coming. I couldn’t have known that it could get better than that first offer seemed. I couldn’t have known that regret for a day would be erased by the Lord to make the slate clean.

Thank the Lord –He knew. Thank the Lord –He even washes our regrets anew!

That’s what happens when we regret and the Lord erases it. We take a slate that we’ve muddied and dirtied with doubt and with whole reliance on reason, and we toss it out. Regret makes it seem like there is no turning back and that slate is now useless forever. He erases it, He makes it clean.

Romans 8:27-28 tells us that “He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (MSG)

Who would have thought that even our regrets could be used for the good of those who love Him?

Who would have thought that even our regrets could be used for the good of those who love Him?@BethanyMcIlrath
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For all the ways my knowledge fails me, I’ve found the Lord does not. Even when I fail. Even when my choices seem backwards, but right. He erases regret because regret it about my way –and when that slate is clean, He makes beautiful works of art that are better than anything I could ever dream.

Today I’m glad I turned down that job.

I’m glad that money has kept us at times from making decisions to do things more “typically” because we’ve had some amazing relationships out of it. I’m glad for some of my worst moments because, without some of the mistakes and brokenness I’ve regretted, I would never have let people into my heart as far as I have. These are some of my anti-regrets. These are what keep me saying “Yes, Lord” when I want to say “no.”

{A version of this post was previously published elsewhere}

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No, I haven’t been gone for weeks or even days. My trip to the grocery store took less than an hour this time.

Indeed, it doesn’t matter how long I am gone, nor if I accidentally step on her pawn, my dog’s display of affection has never changed for the past nine years. Regardless of whether I ignore her presence beside the stove while cooking dinner, or caress her belly when watching TV, her eyes always send the same message:

I love you. I need you. I miss you. You are precious to me.

I remembered my dog’s “welcome home” ritual earlier this week, while riding south BR-101, Brazil’s main interstate. My mom and I were on our way to see my 96-year-old grandmother, one of the many people I visited during my short time here. I’ve been in the country for the past two weeks, visiting my Brazilian family, this time without my husband and children. It’s the first time I come alone since I moved to America 18 years ago.

Of all the times I’ve visited, this one has been especially emotional to me. Since I’ve been on my own, I have received and been able to offer undivided attention to my family. Everywhere I go, the display of love and appreciation fills my heart with joy. It’s a beautiful “welcome home” ritual in every house I visit, and each embrace conveys what a thousand words cannot express.

Living 6,000 miles away from my country and loved ones has changed the way I see all the important relationships in my life. I don’t take the time spent with my parents for granted anymore. Each laughter shared with my siblings and each moment with my best friend are held close to my heart, since it will be another year before we see each other again.

Many years ago, I was riding down I-75 to my first job in downtown Atlanta, praying and asking God to help me cope with the emptiness I felt inside. My mom had just returned home from a visit to America, and I was thinking about the days she spent at our home. Had I shown her the depth of my love? Had I been slow to judge and quick to forgive? Had I been wise and picked my battles, instead of allowing small aggravations to steal our precious time together? I knew the answer. Her visit could have been much better, had I been just a bit wiser.

Various situations played in my mind, when I spotted a sticker on the window of the car in front of mine. The simple words, written in bold white letters, spoke volumes:

“No Regrets.”

Given the other Surf and Rock Climbing stickers that the young lady collected on her car window, one could easily understand her meaning: Seize the day. Be adventurous. Don’t miss out on life.

But as I thought about those words, a deep conviction settled in, and “No Regrets” has become my life motto ever since. No, I have not climbed any mountains or surfed any waves since then. That day, however, while thinking about my relationships and how fast life passes by, I decided to live more intentionally, forgive much, choose my battles wisely, and, most of all, grab every opportunity to treasure those I love.

It’s amazing how pointless certain arguments can become, and how unimportant small differences can be, when you have to say goodbye to the ones you love. Should we live as if they were gone tomorrow, or simply if we could not hold them for another year, would petty things bother us so? I think not.

May God help us seize each day with our loved ones as if it were the last, and strive to live with no regrets.

Lord, help us seize each day with our loved ones as if it were the last, and strive to live with NO REGRETS.
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This article was originally published on Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Saturday – November 25th, 2017.

The post Cherish Your Loved Ones… and Live with NO Regrets {The Atlanta Journal Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.