A Future with Hope

Sometime back a hospice worker named Bronnie Ware wrote an interesting book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. I read a review on the book and it touched me deeply. As a pastor, I have heard people express many of these same regrets near the end of their lives. Those regrets are:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.      
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.    
4. I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends.      
5. I wish I’d let myself be happier.

Friend of Dial Hope, whatever stage of life you happen to be in, I pray that God would remove any sorrow or self-judgment. Instead, may you try to learn from the past, and trust God to lead you into a fuller future.

My friend Hunter Camp recently wrote, “In most instances, life allows u-turns. In all instances, God allows u-turns. While we can never take back time that is lost—or erase moments of our past that we regret, we can amend our lives so the future looks less like the past and more like the life of our dreams.”

Let us pray: Loving God, we remember today that life is short and that it is fragile. Grant us the courage to live not to please others, but to please you. May we express what is on our hearts and minds. Release us from any bitterness, guilt, resentment, or anger that only make us sick. Help us make wise choices with our time. And, set us free to fully enjoy this life which is a gift. We pray in the name of the One who walks with us – even now. Amen.