Do you know what set of words scare me the most? It is the huge, big giant…“WHAT IF.” That statement gives me the chills. It is one of the cruelest things to think about. It consumes your every thought.
Some people may think, I should have done this or said this. Maybe then they would have stayed. That person would have been with me instead. If I had gone to that college instead of this one, maybe my life would have been better. If only I had applied to study abroad. If only…
See what I mean? It eats at you. Fills your constant thoughts and you decide that you have made ALL of the wrong choices and wonder how to make it right.
Last week, I was talking to my mom about just this and she said, “Caroline, there are no what ifs.” WHAT?! That statement has changed my view of life forever. If you think about it, it is so true. “What’s meant to be will be.” There is no existence in the land of “What Ifs” because everything happens for a reason. Yeah, it sucks when you go through heartbreak.
Someone in my life recently told me,
“When God shows you it's time to let someone go and you refuse to, He will allow that person to hurt you to the point you have no choice but to let go.”
OK, to be completely honest, I saw that on Pinterest, but I’m in love with that quote. I have never thought about it that way. There’s a specific purpose for why everything happens the way that it happens. Maybe because of that job loss, you have an opportunity that you never dreamed of, or maybe because of that friend that betrayed your trust, you allowed yourself to open to a new friendship that better benefits you. Yeah, sometimes we make dumb choices that we regret…like everyday, but remember it’s in the past and now you move forward. You can’t look forward if you keep on looking back.
One example of this is my friend, who joined my family at church and after the service my dad pointed out that she had her shirt on inside out. She was completely embarrassed, but she is that friend that embraces her mistakes and laughs at them. She said, “Oh, you think I’m awake enough to put my shirt on the right way.” My mom and I laughed with her as we said our goodbyes. Later, she texted me that it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that she didn’t know how to dress herself that morning. A random lady in the bathroom complimented her on a song that she sang a while ago while she was on the worship team. Seriously though, she has an amazing voice that even angels should be jealous of. Although she had confided in me that she had messed up on the song, it helped her to be more confident and uplift her. If she had worn her shirt the correct way, she would not have gone to the bathroom at church to change and then wouldn’t have had the chance to hear that praise. I guess God works in mysterious ways.
Those many “What ifs” can be laid to rest because if you remind yourself that it is not your fault then you can move on. You cannot relive moments you want to be your future because they are in your past. You have to move on because you have more of life ahead of you. Just remember what C.S. Lewis said: “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
