No regrets! Is that a true goal? What about your loved ones and knowing how precious they are to you, do they know it? Have you told them lately? Do you hold a grudge? Have you gotten mad and in your anger made some bad choices and decisions and now you don’t know how to mend what has been torn? Or has it been the other way around? What if one of you died today, would the other one know how you really felt? Speak Your Heart!

What is it all worth to you? How can you possibly overcome the mountain that stands in your way? If it is a mountain placed there by you, chances are good that you have the means to get it out of the way. Is it unforgiveness? Why did they treat you this way? Don’t they understand? Maybe it was the lack of respect or maybe they just did something that broke your heart in two and now it hurts too much.

Somewhere in all of that hurt and pain, you have to separate your feelings from what you know to be true in your heart, at least for a moment. Ask the Lord to help you. Once you find the truth, the rest is much easier. Our feelings can lie to us. Take the old story, for instance, about an automobile wreck. There are many witnesses but if you ask each one of them their story, they will all be different. This is because they see it all from different perspectives.

What is in your heart? Is it healed or are there some areas that are broken, bruised and torn. How do you react or respond in different situations? Is there a certain situation that triggers you to react in a ceretain way? These are the things that we can work on to help. These are our responsibilities. We need to be healed and the Lord can heal us if we ask and if we truly want to be healed. Once we are healed then we can respond to situations instead of react.

Maybe the person who has hurt you is totally unaware of what they did. Maybe what you thought they did was not really what happened at all. Maybe it was twisted by your own hurts and wounds and you just took it the wrong way. A healed person would respond in these situations and ask if this is what was intended. A wounded person reacts from the previous pain in their heart and usually closes up more, even if the situation had nothing to do with them. I know. I have been there many times.

How do you overcome because obviously this person means a lot to you? Communication! Write a letter. Send an email. Call them on the telephone. Meet with them in person. Do what you have to do?  If the other person is unwilling, at least make sure they understand where you are. Forgive them, love them and let the Lord handle the situation. Maybe they need to go through some things in their life before they get the understanding.

The main point I am wanting to make is this: As for as it is in your power, make sure that those you love know that you love them. Do not leave it open for interpretation. Tell them over and over again. Listen to them also. They may not like some things about you and you about them, but love goes beyond that. Life is too short to not make things right. If you don’t believe me, ask someone who has lost a loved one and is now grieving. There are some who will tell you that they wish they would have done this or said that. They wish they could get one more chance, but they can’t.

I tell my children this and those who will listen. I have made many mistakes in my life but I don’t want to live with this kind of regret especially since it is in my power to do something about it. One thing my family knows is that I love them and there is nothing that will ever change that. I am here for them. While I have to let them grow up and make their own decisions, the door to my heart is always open, even more so when they make a mistake. You see, I have been there too.

Be there for those around you. Speak to them tenderly and with your heart. Encourage others and let them know you care. Share the love you have and a whole new world will open up to you. Some of the hurts and pains in your heart will simply go away. As you give your love away, you will also receive.

Joseph James