Driesen - Beyond Regret: Living Your Life Purpose in Spite of Past Choices

2015 Laurie Driesen

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the publisher.

Published by Silver Path Resources LLC
www.silverpathresources.com

ISBN 9780996203005
ISBN-10 099620301X
ISBN 9780996203012 (pbk)

Cover Design by Thauer Art Direction

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

www.silverpathresources.com

This book is dedicated to my mother, Polly Porter. Without her faithful Christian teaching when I was a child and her diligent intercessory prayer when I was in college, I would not have found my road to a vibrant relationship with the Lord.

I also dedicate this book to Bette Lu Schwarz. Her wise and patient counsel and her unwavering belief in me as I grew spiritually helped me to continue to press forward and get past regret. I will always be grateful for her friendship.

AS I BEGAN WRITING ON the topic of regret, it soon turned into a bigger project than I had expected as I sensed God leading me to incorporate difficult subjects relating to regret, such as pain, suffering, free will, and Gods sovereignty. God used my personal experiences and challenges to give me insight into what would be included in this book. There were many times that I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote as God impressed on my heart important concepts that are laid out in Beyond Regret. I attribute everything that is worthwhile and helpful in this book to the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart and mind as I wrote the chapters. I am thankful for Gods personal guidance in taking Beyond Regret from a burden on my heart into printed pages that may help to further His mission in the world.

I would also like to thank the following people:

My sister, Linda Lijewski, for her faithfulness and diligence in carefully examining every word on each page of the book, checking flow of ideas, proofing, and editing. Her encouragement and support helped me to persevere in this project.

My husband, Neil, for his patience, understanding, and support as God has taken me through the challenging road of writing Beyond Regret. His sense of humor kept me smiling as I delved into writing about difficult subjects.

My daughter, Jessie, for her insights about adding information that may help young people as they deal with choices and desire to prevent future regret. I am thankful for the blessing of having her in my life, especially during years of pain, growth, and beyond.

REGRET. THE MOMENT IN TIME that steered me in a new direction. The decision that I wish I had never made. The path that I should never have taken. The choice seemed right at the time but later deceived me. It didnt cause pain until the consequences starting popping up on the landscape of my life. My steps followed the path, while my unfulfilled heart longed for something different. Here I am, in the life I have constructed with hundreds of bricks. Choice upon choice, brick upon brick, circumstance upon circumstance. I am living the consequences of my choices.

Regret encompasses that sense of loss, hopelessness, and dissatisfaction that we feel today when we look back at yesterday. This book is intended to provide a path through and a way out of the mire of regret that bogs us down and keeps our heart and mind stuck in the past. In simple words, this book will provide drops of hope in the ocean of regret. This will be good news to those of you who are convinced that deep in the unchangeable record of the past, there is no hope, only painful memories and even more painful consequences that form the circumstances of the life you are living. My hope is that each page of what you are about to read will help you move beyond regret, that persistent dark cloud of the past.

Not only can you and I be free from regret but we can live out the purpose of our lives in spite of the mistakes of our past. This book will help you set out to do just that. Rather than give you steps to follow, platitudes to live by, or positive thinking skills as ways to get past the past, my intent is to take you deeper into the truths that reveal the heart of the matter of regret. Answers to the following questions are woven throughout these pages: What is regret, how do our choices lead to regret, why do we do things well later regret, and how do we avoid future regret? Most importantly, well examine how we can we live out our true purpose in life, regardless of where we are today.

We all have a desire deep within to be fulfilled and satisfied that we have accomplished the purpose for which we were born. Ephesians 2:10 says, For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Of all Gods creation, we are His masterpiece! Lets face it, we will not be truly fulfilled unless and until we live out what we are created to be and do.

If you are young, you may be carrying the weight of regret from bad choices. You dont know the steps forward to ensure a better future. If you are older and living a life that has resulted from many poor choices, you want to know you havent missed your chance to accomplish Gods will for you. Wherever you are in life, whether young or old, there is still hope for you to fulfill the purpose for which God created you.

You doubt. Your mind tells you it is not possible. Its too late. So much has gone wrong in your life that you arent able to find the sense of purpose that you seem to have missed.

But you have hope! That may be why you are reading this book. You want to know what this author might have to say about regret, Gods Word, and fulfilling your purpose in life.

Whether you have doubt or hope, this book is for you. In the following pages, you will find reasons to let go of regret and press forward into a better future. You will learn what God has to say about His true purpose for your life. I pray that you are open to Gods truth and willing to move beyond regret, finally!

Understanding Regret

One Small Degree

IT DOESNT TAKE MUCH TO get off a healthy path. Imagine yourself driving a car a long distance from point A to point B. If you deviate even one degree from the straight line to your destination, you will end up in a totally different place. In fact, the longer you drive, the farther you will be from your original destination. In other words, the longer you live, the more one degree of deviation directs you further and further from your original goal.