Learn or Lose

 Recently, I counseled a person who was coming to grips with sinful behavior. The person felt sorry, foolish and embarrassed, very aware of damage done. But also, the “Let’s see how much I can beat myself” mode was kicking in. My advice was to reject that option in favor of the “Let’s see how much I can learn” mode. Yes, there  must be sorrow and repentance. But then there needs to be an acceptance of grace and a decision to learn from what happened so a better road can be taken going forward.

When It Does Seem Too Hard

I first want to thank those of you who commented on last week’s post and added many thoughtful comments. If you haven’t read what others said, it is not too late. You can go the “comment” section under “Hard”ly True.

But this week I want to respond to a comment that you will not read there. It was added and then removed by the person (I assume a mother) who posted it, but I was able to see it before she took it down. The pain she felt in her heart made it difficult for her to even write and then she must have decided she should not put it out there.

"Hard"ly True

I remember sitting on our basement couch in Concord, Massachusetts, circa 1997 and writing out a simple description to sum up the challenge of life. Later on I did a message on what I had written. But that night on the couch I listed four points:

Days of Our Lives

A friend in California reminded me this week of a quote from Mark Twain: “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why.”