My Way

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

“The longer our trail of regrets, the more we tend to value the importance of making wise decisions.” – Bob Santos

Everyone has heard Frank Sinatra’s song, “I Did It My Way.” It’s a romantic and self-confident song filled with regrets, “But too few to mention.” It includes charting every course and doing what had to be done— by Himself.

My way or the highway? To be happy, I need things to be my way. This means being unhappy most of the time. Who wants to live unhappily? I had a miserable cold, the internet was down for days, and some household chores were postponed. Little life frustrations that drag me down. It was time for some self-care, reading and acceptance. Did I regret it? At first. A nap with my cuddly dog filled me with thanks in my warm, fuzzy sweats with steaming tea and a fast-paced book about the Book of Acts. Would I have planned this? No. And I needed it more than I thought. I fought it. Then I accepted. Then I had joy because I have a Father who delights in my way. A Father who knows when I need some downtime.

The world goes on without me. We “doers” find self-esteem and approval in our work, achievements and hobbies. This isn’t all bad because the Father designed us to do good works for His glory. Doing all the time at the expense of our health, families, or church is not a wise choice. If I had continued to work, my cold could have become worse, my temper could have flared, and I would have been even more behind and filled with regrets—that’s doing it my way.

Regrets—everyone has them. This is why we have grace. We have big regrets like hurting a loved one or guilt feelings when caregiving, financial mishaps, or an ill-fitting career. We fall but the Father holds our hand and makes everything good because we love Him.

Musings

Just because a famous person with huge talent says or sings something doesn’t make it true. I remember the admonishment my mom would say when I was an adolescent pleading for permission to do what my friends were doing: “If a million people believe in a stupid idea, it’s still a stupid idea.” It was true then and it’s true now. The Father establishes our steps and delights in our ways.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Your ways are above our ways, and when we force ourselves to do or be something we shouldn’t, in comes regret. Regret stops us from doing and being all that You want for us.

You delight in our way and we thank you. Please remind us of this when we are dwelling in regret and lose our way. Thank you we can start again and again because of Your grace.

Amen.