What if.....

What if I had only… What if I had not…What if he…What if she…What if ! What if ! What if !!!

Do you ever catch yourself thinking this? These thoughts and feelings come in a moment of fatigue and frustration. A time when you would like to be someone else in a different time and place. A time when you would like to go back and start over! Hind sight is always twenty-twenty!

This past week in our community a young man lost his life crossing a busy street in front of the skate park. Very sad...but I believe God ordained ...the vehicle who hit him was driven by a youth pastor and kids on their way to a lock in. Do you think that young man knew that Friday was his last day here on this Earth? I wonder how many witnesses to the accident had the thought..."What if"? Would the young man have lived his life differently had he known? Would you....if you knew it was your last day? It's strange how a death can really make you think of your very own mortality. Sometimes making you think about your relationship with Jesus Christ or the lack there of. We don't get a second chance once we're gone. Life can end in an instant...leaving those that we love saying "what if !"

What if my dad hadn’t died…who would I be today? What if he had made a different choice to not leave that day? We all make choices that change the course of history. Some simple and some very important choices. Even the simplest of choices change how our day or life plays out.Our choices not only affect us…but often those that we love.

I am continually encouraging my children to make wise choices in their lives. Sometimes they listen…sometimes they don’t! I know there have been times when I have heard them say…“If only I had listened!” Those words are music to a mother’s ears! Finally…they get it! They did hear me! Now to get them to think this way ALL the time. What if?

So often I do the same thing with my Lord. He speaks…I ignore. He speaks again…I run. He speaks so quietly…calling me to sit with Him and listen. What if I obeyed his calling? How different my life would be.Am I too busy? Am I afraid to obey His request? I know He has my best interest at heart. He knows my future. But yet I shut out that still small voice and in my own selfishness do my thing…in my own power. Then in the end…I say…What if ? “I wish I had only listened!” Those are the words that our Heavenly Father longs to hear.

Choosing to follow Christ is something I have to do daily. My decision to surrender my life to Him was the best choice I have ever made! What if I hadn’t made that choice? Who knows ? I hope I never have to find out! My heart changed the day I gave my life to my savior. All my wants, needs and desires changed too! This is the one “What if” that I will never look back on and regret!

My father in law once told his children…“Live your life with no regrets!”Your actions are something you can never take back! Slow down… Think before you say and do! We have all heard it but yet those choices are made and the regrets are left in their wake.
Isn’t it time to put the past in the past and look to the future? Yes…you have regrets of the bad choices you have made. No one can change their past! But…it’s never to late to look straight ahead and make a change for the future! Learn from it and move on!
“What if you did!”  Life is too short!