Begin Again
I can do things differently from here on out.
We're going to make mistakes in life. In fact, we're going to make a lot of them. Nobody is going to go through life perfectly (the only person who ever lived a perfect life was Jesus). We should accept this fact early on so that we're not misled into thinking that our growth as humans and as followers of Christ is going to be perfect and without faults.
If we think that we're not supposed to make mistakes, we will constantly be frustrated by our daily imperfections and bad decisions (which will no doubt be many over our lifetime). We don't want to end up paralyzed by our failures and dwelling on them to the point that we start thinking that we're hopeless cases. Instead, we want to learn to rise from the ashes of defeat and move past our faults and mistakes to do much better in the future. We need a healthier view of mistakes and failures. We should see them as a natural part of the learning and growth process.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't be remorseful for our sins and mistakes. We should be repentant of our ungodly ways. But we shouldn't get stuck in our defeat. We shouldn't dwell too much on our mistakes when we know that we've been forgiven by Christ. We will always have the opportunity to keep moving forward in life.
One of the things that I now say to myself to help me keep moving forward is this: "Begin again." If I made a mistake or I was careless with something or I lacked discipline or something didn't go the right way, I can always try to do much better in the next moment. Saying to myself, "Begin again," signals to me that the next moments can be different. I can do things differently from here on out. And if I make a mistake again, I can just repeat the phrase, "Begin again," to get me back on track. In fact, I may say the phrase multiple times throughout the day. It's a simple way to remind myself that I can have a fresh start right here and right now with whatever I'm hoping to do in life. And this fresh start is always made possible by Christ and His work on the cross.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
