The title of our pastor’s sermon last Sunday continues to offer food for thought. At face value, the risk factor sounded impossible. The message was entitled: “Don’t trip over something behind you.”
When it comes to tripping over something, I’ve learned the hard way. Distracted walking is as dangerous as distracted driving. Lesson learned: Do Not Read Text Messages While You Are Walking.
Actually, the last time I fell I was transferring a receipt from my money clip to my wallet for safe keeping, but the principle is the same. You have to stay focused on where you are walking.
I like to think of myself as someone in continuous forward motion. Truth be told, I have one speed: Off/On. If I’m walking, I’m walking fast. The last time I took a tumble, I tripped over a curb.
In order to save my face from the concrete, I used my two hands. Two months later, I’m beginning to think my hands will never be the same. Time has not restored their full functioning and they still hurt. A lot of other folks would have figured that out in less than two months. Okay, so I’m not the sharpest Crayola in the box.
The question is obvious. If you are moving forward, how do you ever trip over something behind you? It sounds like an impossibility. On the other hand, how many of us are obsessed with thoughts of “if only?” If only I had done this rather than that, my life would have worked out better. It happens all the time.
Years ago, I read the story of a young man who sought counseling from his pastor. He had determined his marriage was a mistake. I guess you could say he fell in the category of miserably married.
The pastor asked the man how he had come to marry his wife. His story might cause one to think the young man was grasping at straws, so to speak. The man and his wife had not dated very long before he invited her to his apartment to watch television. At some point, while they were watching a program, she walked over to the television and jiggled the aluminum foil that stretched from one end of the rabbit ears to the other.
Actually, she did that a couple of times. Maybe the young man ascertained that she was a “take charge” kind of person. The thought that subsequently ran through his head became a silent prayer. “Lord, if you want me to ask this woman to marry me, let her do that one more time.”
Months later, as a newly married man, he was living with regrets and thought maybe he had misinterpreted the message he ascertained as an answer to prayer.
That leads me to one of the points I want to make. One way to trip over something behind us falls into the category of regret. It gets back to the “if only” scenario: “If only I had done this rather than that.”
If you ever want to have peace of mind, don’t allow yourself to be shackled with an ongoing sense of regret. I guess if you discover life has given you lemons of your own making, opt to make lemonade and stop obsessing over regret.
The other point I want to make is this: “For many of us the statute of limitations related to our childhood has expired.” I don’t know anyone who had perfect parents and I don’t know any parents who had perfect children. We are all broken. The gift of forgiveness related to things behind us is crucial if we are to move forward without tripping over something behind us.
Give it some thought: “Don’t trip over something behind you.”
All My Best!
Don
Carpe Diem 