A Prayer For Serenity By Trevor Hudson Sample

Accepting Past Regrets

Most of us carry regrets: Regrets of wasted opportunities and lost time. Regrets of things done and left undone. Regrets of decisions taken and those not taken. Regrets of words spoken and unspoken. Regrets like these rob us of our peace and serenity. Often they leave us with deep feelings of guilt or remorse, or even despair. We wish we could turn back the clock. But we cannot. 

So what can we do? We can pray the Serenity Prayer. We can ask God to help us to accept the irreparable past. Finding peace does not mean doing nothing. It may grow out of prayer, but it does not stop there. It brings new intentions, new obligations, new efforts.

The following can be helpful:

• I have found a few friends with whom I can be honest about these past regrets. These are friends who accept me “warts and all” and who do not try to fix me.

• I am learning how to receive the forgiveness of God. Often I look at a cross, which represents God’s forgiving love, and imagine God saying to me, “See how much I love and forgive you.”

• I am learning slowly how to make amends. Often an apology is all that is needed. Sometimes I need to do more. Sometimes I need to ask the person concerned what I need to do to make up for what I have done.

• If the regret concerns someone who has died, I often share my thoughts and feelings with God. I ask God to share them with the person concerned.

When the Serenity Prayer is accompanied by actions like these, we open our hearts to the miracle of acceptance happening in our lives. Wouldn’t you agree that Easter time is the perfect opportunity to start anew?

What do you sense God is communicating to you with regard to the above?