Spilled Milk

There's no use crying over spilled milk. Old proverb

Just about everyone has that one "big mistake" from their past that makes them shudder every time it comes to memory. For some that big mistake literally rules their lives, for they either live in fear of discovery, or they live with the consequences of that action. If this is you, welcome to the club! Now, what are you to do about it?

Your first response might be, "What can I do about it? What's done, is done!" And... that is exactly the point. If you could go back and live your life over, you would avoid those big mistakes - but you can't. So, again, the question comes back as to what to do about those things that  we cannot change. The answer, I believe, is to live well today.

When I was a kid, milk came in glass bottles with crimped foil lids. Once, when I was about five, I reached into the fridge and took out a full half-gallon, grasping the bottle by that foil lid. The lid came off in by hand and the bottle crashed to the floor - breaking glass and flooding the kitchen with milk. I was horrified because Dad was sitting right there, aggravated by my carelessness. At five, the mess looked incomparably large. It was certain that I was dead - this was a "big mistake" from which five year-old boys do not recover. So, it was settled: Life was over. Then, we cleaned up the mess and I learned one of life's big lessons: Don't cry over spilled milk!

One of the greatest gifts that we have as Christians is that of forgiveness. We all know this, at least in theory, but we sometimes forget to apply it to our own circumstances - especially when it comes to the "big mistakes". Still, if you are a Christian and you have repented of your sins, regardless of the size, you are forgiven!

God has called us to a life rich with challenges and opportunities and countless blessings, but these things cannot be achieved if we cling to the mistakes of our past. If you could change the past, you would, but you can't. So, don't cry anymore over your own personal spilled milk. You can recover! Your life is not over after all, so you might as well get on with living well today!

But on thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14, NIV