"I Have No Regrets"

I've always thought that statement was one of the more bizarre ones a person can make.

Like the celebrity or athlete who looks back on a career which included snorting coke through hundred dollar bills, four stints in rehab, three failed marriages, kids who don't talk to him, and legions of busted relationships...and says "I'd do it all over again".

The ability to face up to our mistakes honestly is a key to emotional health, spiritual wholeness, and keeping relationships that matter to us.

We all have regrets. We all should. It's what we do with the regrets that matters.

My regrets can paralyze me, keeping me from risking, trusting, or loving.

I can deny my regrets, leaving me emotionally and spiritually adolescent.

Or my regrets can lead me to repentance, spiritual growth and humility.

Repentance - - when I acknowledge what I did or failed to do was wrong and turn consciously away from the motivations and false beliefs that led to my action or inaction.

Spiritual growth - - when I receive God's forgiveness and am more secure in His grace.

Humility - - where I acknowledge that I am capable of messing up in significant ways and so learn to depend on God for life, not my own intentions, abilities, or creative attempts to repair damage or get our of tight scrapes.

What do you do with your regrets?