Veda Thomas

Lucas

“Semester finals are Friday, and I really need your prayers,” a fellow church member stated. I had heard similar prayer requests from other members. Each time I thought, You need to study, not pray. As far back as elementary school, learning came easy to me. I had difficulty understanding why others struggled with what I perceived to be simple assignments. They don’t apply themselves, I surmised.

I had recently completed my master’s degree in education with high marks. The only thing standing between myself and a substantial pay raise was the successful completion of my master’s final exam which I was scheduled to complete in a couple of weeks. And of course, I saw that as no problem.

When exam day arrived, confident anticipation filled my spirit. This is it, I thought as I entered the library. I inhaled deeply and took my seat at a table near the front of the room. The proctor distributed the test. I eagerly opened my booklet; I analyzed my essay question. I couldn’t have gotten a better question if I had written it myself.

As I wrote, all the knowledge I had accumulated scrambled together. I struggled to put my thoughts down in a lucid manner. When I finished my answer, I decided to rewrite it to make it more coherent. Before I completed the rewrite, the exam time ended.

I crammed my partially finished rewrite in with my jumbled completed answer. My cocky confidence overrode the inner inkling that I needed to worry. I rationalized the professors would be so impressed with the abundance of information I had written on my topic, that I had nothing to fret about. Two weeks later, when I received my score through the mail, reality set in. I had done what I believed I couldn’t—I had failed.

Scripture describes a time in the apostle Peter’s life in which he had done what he thought he couldn’t as well. On the night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He predicted all the disciples would be made to stumble because of Him (

The Envoy commercial caught my attention every time I heard the jingle. The newest SUV to hit the market. My dream vehicle was equipped with dual control heat and air, stylish leather interior, running boards, and must-have keyless entry. My husband was equally impressed with its 5.3-liter V8 engine, 355 horsepower, and 383 pound-feet of torque, whatever that means. If we could have any type of car we wanted, this was it. I radiated sheer delight thinking of it sitting in our garage.

We drove our ‘88 Oldsmobile into the dealership ready to sign on the dotted line. After discovering the payments were going to be a little steeper than we had anticipated, we felt hesitant to go through with the deal. But then we rationalized as hard as we worked, we deserved to have the one thing we desired most. I justified our decision by telling myself it would bring us years of satisfaction and dependable service.

After a few short months and many sacrifices, and more than four years left in payments, I was astounded when I heard my husband express dissatisfaction with our dream vehicle. He already had his eye on a newer model Acadia. My heart sank. Once again, I was confronted with the realization we had unwittingly sacrificed our time, money, and attention to the acquisition of material things that brought no lasting pleasure or any eternal benefit. Instead, we were left with the regret of the choice we had made.

Over the years, I’ve learned regret has many faces. Among them are sorrow, misery, anguish, pain, distress, heartache, agony, torment, affliction, suffering, and remorse — just to name a few. The regret may be in response to a missed opportunity, an action or inaction that carried negative effects, or choices made with little thought of consequences, good or bad.

As the Lord prepared His children’s hearts to cross over into the promised land, He gave them a choice that carried with it the possibility of great blessings or great regrets. Scripture tells us that God set before them life and death, blessing and cursing. He entreated them to choose life, that both they and their descendants might live; that they might love the LORD their God, that they might obey His voice, and that they might cling to Him, for He was their life and the length of their days (