How to get unstuck in the New Year

I remember the impact of that one e-mail I sent. I added a snarky comment about the boss — it was funny, but terribly wrong. As soon as I hit “send”, I wish I could have taken it back.

There was the time I picked my teenage son up and “strongly encouraged” him out the door to do a chore. He had been shuffling, dawdling, delaying the inevitable and I gave him a push and he tripped on the way down the steps. In a heap, he looked up in disgust at me. I so wanted to take back those last angry actions and start over.

We all have hinge moments, those vital seconds that we wish we could change. Maybe it was a comment, or an inappropriate look, or a word coming from the darkest heart.

We all have regrets — those things that we do differently if given the chance. I have a lifetime of them.

It would have been easier to live a life of no regret. I know some people who say they do. But they are the ones who really don’t give a darn about anyone else, saying and doing what they want. That’s no way to be.

Grace seems to be the operative word. Because without it, I can’t go backwards. There’s just no way to fix all the wrongs.

And I can’t go forward, because I’m living with what shoulda-woulda-coulda been.

Without grace, I’m just stuck. And that’s a habit I just need to break.


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Linking up with Jennifer today. God Bumps and Surprises. Mine? I got unstuck!
Creating new habits, with A Holy Experience too.