Have you ever thought back about your past and regretted a memory? Have you ever thought back on it and wished you could change one thing? Have you ever been asked how your life would be different if you had not met someone along the way or thought about his or her specific impact on your life? Would you rather erase those memories and start over?
It is human nature to think about these things and it is something that happens to most people in their 20s, as we drift through the motions every day of college, becoming an adult and moving forward in our life's journey. We start thinking about those motions and what if we had done something different or picked a different path for our lives? Here's the catch: we didn't pick a different path, or regret that moment in time; right then, that's everything we wanted.
We wanted to be with that boyfriend or girlfriend that broke our hearts into a million pieces. We wanted to go to our dream school out of town or out of state. We wanted to major in something that we were passionate about, even though we won't get a pretty paycheck. We wanted those moments. Looking back at those times, would you change it or erase the memory completely?
If you didn't have that heartbreak would you have ever grown into the strong person you've become through the pain? If you didn't chase your dream, you would have been unhappy working 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. every day doing something you don't love. If you didn't meet certain people along the way, you would not have been able to learn the value of true friendship and which friends you want in your corner when you truly need a friend. Friends come and go with the seasons of life that we go through, but you will always have those few that will stick through the stages and the seasons - cherish those friendships.
I can do a whole lot of "I wish I had done this differently" or "Wonder what would have happened if I had done this rather than this?" But looking back at the past, I would not change it or erase a part of it for anything. I would not be the person I am today if I had not been through the walk of life that I have been through. I would not be where I am, who I am with, studying what I am studying, if I had made one different choice along the way.
Don't erase that memory, moment, old friendship, or decision, because it led you right where you are - living your life. Find happiness in your life, even if we did make a few bad decision in the past, we wouldn't be who we are without those times either. Most importantly, thank God for getting you here and blessing your journey, or as Rascal Flatts says, "that God blessed the broken road", as broken as it might have been to get you to this point. And whatever you do, don't erase that memory.
