** … I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ** Matthew 28:20
Wouldn’t it be great if we could have a do-over every time we make a mistake? To be able to go back and have that difficult or tense conversation again? We could take back harsh words. We could be more patient, more understanding, more empathetic.
Maybe we could go back and just be silent. We could be more of an observer and less of a participant.
Have you ever thought of all the times that the Lord is silent in our day to day? How He just sits there watching us and hoping to be invited into the conversation so He can impart wisdom into our chaos? Instead, we go running back and forth through our day and never ask Him a question or stop long enough to listen to see if He has something to offer to our day.
It is in those moments when I realize I have been on autopilot that I think about what could have been had I just asked the Lord for a little help along the way. The times when I could have benefited more from His Spirit than my own. When I could have been kinder or more supportive or more sensitive to someone else’s hurt.
It might be yesterday’s conversations, or last week’s unending stress and to-do list that get me reflecting on how I could have done better. Or seasons, like my raising children season, or my early Christian season that can fill my heart with regret or frustration for not doing a better job at my life.
The good news is that the Lord didn’t fail during any of these times. He was always there ready to help. And in the midst of my mistakes, He smoothed things over and made them look better than they were.
That’s true in all of our lives. We do our best in the moment, hoping for a good outcome, but the Lord is the One who takes all of our meager efforts and makes them more useful than they really seem to us. The mistakes don’t disappear, but He is an expert at making all things beautiful. He turns ashes into beauty, mourning into dancing. He takes the one little thing we do right and multiplies it so that the mistakes we make don’t stand out with such glaring accusation. Sometimes He pours grace into the heart that needs to forgive us. Or humility into us so that we can ask forgiveness.
When I am having one of those times when I look back and wish I could have done better, I try to remember that it wasn’t about me anyway. It wasn’t about my getting it right. It was and always is about what the Lord does through my blunders. I might still be a mess but His Light and Love and Grace and Mercy are working overtime to smooth things over. And that’s OK. That’s why His Love has no limits. That’s why He is Rich in Mercy. That’s why our lives are not about us but about Him.
If you are like me and have the tendency to look back and wish you could change some of the things that you say or do, or maybe you do a whole Life Review from time to time….just remember it isn’t about us. It never has been. It’s always been about Him. And He always gets it right.