“If a magic wand were waved so you could go back in life and make a different choice at certain junctures, would you want to?” That was the question recently posed by a friend.
At first the answer seemed easy. A spontaneous “Yes!”
After all, who has not made an occasional poor choice?
But on second thought...
Our lives are created by the choices and decisions and actions we take and while some are wise and some are foolish, all contribute to who we are and who we are becoming.
I have occasionally wondered: what if I had not moved my children to the Midwest after their father died? What if we had stayed in California near their grandparents? Some painful experiences occurred in that transition. At the same time, my son and daughter grew up to marry fellow Midwesterners and create happy, long-lasting marriages. Their unions produced grandchildren I love.
Spiritual writer Ed Hays once wrote, “Accept all circumstances as God’s mysterious way of guiding your growth.”
Hmmm.
Life only moves in one direction: forward.
Perhaps a better question to ask is this: Have I learned from the choices I made, both the good and the bad?”
Have I grown?
Do I like and accept who I am now?
And especially: Am I prayerfully open to making choices today based on compassion and love?
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