It's amazing how quickly one can go from feeling great to feeling horrible. When I see something that reminds me of a mistake that I have made in the past it can cause me to dwell on it. I end up ignoring the present while wallowing in my imperfections and not focusing on Christ's perfection.
A few weeks ago I backed into a truck and today I happened to see that truck again. The whole way home I was distracted, dwelling upon what I would say if I ran into him again(not with my truck this time). It caused me to drive home in "auto-pilot" and make even more mistakes. When this was brought to my realization I also saw how this is true in other areas of my life.
Focusing on past failures, whether relational, managemental, etc. just leads to us missing the present. We lose time that God has given us to bring more people into His kingdom when we dwell in self pity. No matter how much we think about the things that we regret will not change it the past.
I have struggled with this so much in my past and God is slowly renewing my mind so that I focus on His perfection instead. He has made me new and my mistakes do not define me; His grace and choice of me does. So I can now go up to the guy I backed into and make it right not covered in shame but in the knowledge that Christ still loves and wants me. Hopefully this transfers to other areas of my life as well.
