This past weekend I partook in a three day intensive class on leadership at MHGS. At a young age I took on leadership responsibilities. For a beginner I think that I did some things well, and I am thankful for many of the opportunities that came my way. On the other hand though I made mistakes. There were instances that my words were not very wise nor loving. There were times that I did not value the people around me. And there were times where I simply took on more than I should have. With that said, and without going into further detail about my past, I carry with me regret. Now in one sense regret has served me well. It has caused me to seek new ways of doing things. It has brought me to MHGS, where I have entered a community that seeks to re-imagine what the gospel is.
As I went through this class though this thought came to me:
Regret you have taken me this far; you cannot take me any farther.
Regret can motivate us to do many things. It can motivate us to change the way things are, often in positive ways. But ultimately it will destroy us, and it will prohibit us from living into the beautiful things that we desire.
So we must come to a place where we grieve the past. Recognize the wrong that we have done, and then embrace the beauty that we hope to create.
These are simple thoughts, but powerful if we were to live by them.
*We watched the The Mission in class as a tool to examine leadership. For a poignant example of the power of regret watch Rodrigo Mendoza, the character played by Robert De Niro in the film.
I think most of life is in between. In between good and bad, love and hate, joy and pain, hope and despair. I am not sure what that has to do with my blog, but I think to have a good blog, it needs to have a sophisicated philosophical tone to it. As if we are ever that philosophical in our actual existence. Anyway, enjoy. PS...as a bonus you might find some of my photos posted on this blog.
2 comments:
This has been a year where I have been bogged down with regret. Having lived twice as long as you my regrets are numerous. Guilt and regret are huge weights to carry around. Now I know why they say that Jesus frees us. He takes these weights and throws them into the sea of forgiveness. But we must leave them there. It's not easy.
How would you say the Holy Spirit plays into the whole regret thing? Is there a correlation between guilt and regret?
I'd say that the Holy Spirit guides us into truth, and is the light that reveals the past for what it is, both beautiful and ugly. She gently points out where we have erred and carefully reminds us of where we've done right. As she points out the error, she doesn't leave us there. She directs us beyond it, above it. And the same goes with where we've done rightly. She directs us away from being satisfied with what's been done, and guides us into new paths.
Thanks for being honest here, Jordan.
And I love the Mission...never thought of examining it through leadership lenses...powerful.
Been wondering what it'd be like to be like Ezra and be the lead repenter of a community...
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