If only,
a quiet whisper
that follows me
through moments already gone.

If only
I had done it sooner.
If only
I had said it then.
If only
I knew what I know now.

These are the thoughts
that return uninvited.
Circling decisions,
replaying moments
that refuse to rest.

I should have done it sooner.
What is wrong with me?
It echoes,
again and again,
never quite satisfied.

Yes, 
you did it.
You said it.
You could have done better,
but you didn't.
So forgive yourself and live.

Because regret,
if left unchecked,
becomes a quiet torment.

I should have read more.
I should have done this
I shouldn't have done that,
It never ends.

Finding faults in everything 
you do is a subtle tactic,
one that weakens you slowly.
Because if the enemy can’t make you comfortable in failure,
he will make you restless in growth.

And that is not what God intends.
Regret can become a tool,
sticky like glue,
clinging to moments long gone:
the presentation you fumbled,
the words you wish you changed,
the opportunities that slipped
right through your fingers.

If only I had been wiser,
maybe things would be different.
Yes,
acknowledge it.
Learn from it.

But do not live there.
Do not sit in the past
while life waits for you in the present.
Reflect,
but remember,
there is no manual for life,
no handbook for perfect decisions.

At the end of the day,
make peace
with the choices you’ve made.
Because even here,
even now,
God is still working.

~Romans 8:28; "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

You may not have chosen right,
but grace is not dependent on perfection.
All things,
even this 
can be turned for good.
So believe it.
Without doubt.

Mistakes happen,
but God is not limited by them.
He can take anything
and still make it meaningful.

Mercy still speaks,
for the weak,
for the tired,
for the broken,
for the ones who don't even know
where they're going.

You cannot go back.
Time will not bend for you.
And even if it did,
you might lose yourself
trying to fix every wrong turn.

Mercy does not rewrite the past,
it redeems the present.
And the future?
Let it be shaped by mercy.

Because if the past cannot be erased,
then let it be used,
not as a place of dwelling,
but as a place of growth.

~Lamentations 3:22–23; "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning."