I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung over at our Five Minute Friday website. Today’s word prompt is “regret” We would love to have you join us.
Regret=”to mourn the loss or death of,to miss very much, to be very sorry for regrets his mistakes” (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)
It hangs on your tongue. It’s the words you want to say but so often are afraid to say them. Its the experiences you wish you participated in. Or the experiences you wish never happened. So often it’s the things we wish we had said or did but didn’t do.
Regret hangs in the air. Regret is not saying “I love you.” Regret is wishing we had said “I’m sorry.” Regret is holding onto hope without truly investing in it. Regret is grieving “the what should have been.” Regret is choosing one door when I feel that I should have chosen the other door. Regret is not an easy thing to say. In fact, at all costs, we like to deny our regrets. But regret is a part of life. As vulnerable humans, we all face things we regret, but are we willing to share those regrets?
I regret the times I’ve forgotten to tell my mom I love her. I regret not sharing my thoughts with someone I care about. I regret the words that I’ve often left unspoken. I regret not telling my dad about my book until after he accidentally found out about it. I regret not telling teachers I appreciated them until it was too late. There is so much I regret leaving unsaid.*
But there are things I don’t regret too. I don’t regret choosing to go to seminary to become a deacon. I don’t regret finally telling my family’s story of mental illness. I dont regret the times I’ve spoken the truth in love. Because if I didn’t say how I was feeling, I would gave regretted it. I would have wondered what if. In other words, regret is words left unsaid; bitterness that could blossom to sweetness if we chose to speak them.
What are those regrets and are you willing to speak them, to admit that we all hold regrets? It’s a part of the realities of life. Are we willing to acknowledge that? Because in acknowledging our hearts and sharing our thoughts, I truly believe that there is a peace that comes over us when we share our regrets with one another. There is power in knowing we are not alone.
*where my five minutes ended!
I agree! It’s good to share the burden of our regrets so that it doesn’t eat away at us :). Beautiful words tonight, Tara!
Thank You friend!
regrets are like that aren’t they… some are sorrowful and some just aren’t. 🙂
Exactly!
Brene Brown says we bond over our brokenness. So true. You clearly understand the importance of sharing our burdens with one another. Just as Jesus calls us to do. That’s where the healing is.
Thanks for sharing that Brene Brown stuff. I have seen that so much as my friends and I grieve the death of our friend Ben. Jesus was good at sharing in community which leads to healing indeed!
Yes! I love the idea of really listing out things I’ve regretted and things I’m glad I did. Putting it in words, letting go, celebrating…
Yes!
So true it’s often the things we don’t do or say that we regret later. And I agree, there is something very freeing and healing about sharing our regret with someone else instead of carrying them by ourselves.
Right?!?
Oh yes, share them.
Indeed! 🙂
I agree – one of the biggest regrets are the words left unspoken!
Yes!
yes, it is helpful to look at our regrets…and deal with them as needed. some can be worked with, some can’t.
True!
This really touched me, Tara. I wonder why it is that so often our regrets have to do with words, either said or unsaid. I think I am more likely to regret NOT saying something than regret saying something. So this is a good reminder to me, not to be afraid to say what I want to say.
I am glad that this post spoke to you friend.
“There is power in knowing we are not alone.”
Indeed. I think that’s why we’re told to confess our sins to each other (James 5:16). Not because any human has the power to forgive the way that God does, but because we need to know that we’re all in the same grace-boat. We need to know that none of us has it all together. When we share the struggles, we can help each other get up and keeping going.
Being in the same grace-boat…I like that reminder!
I regret not saving the occasional prayers and liturgies I wrote in places past. And I love how ypu always invite everyone to join in at the start of your FMFs.
Thanks friend!
I regret some of the words I’ve spoken in haste. Some of the events in our life in recent years have propelled me to guard what I speak before I’ve had time to truly consider them.
Me too, friend, me too!
Tara that was powerful. I have regrets on actions, words and time wasted.
“regret is words left unsaid; bitterness that could blossom to sweetness if we chose to speak them.”
Bitterness that could blossom to sweetness. What a beautiful way to show what can happen when we say those needed words.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thank You! Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!