Editor/writer, Fulton Oursler, is the man behind the quote "Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future."
After reading this quote this morning, I began to think more intensely about regret and fear with a determination to find out how to escape falling victim to the thievery of which Oursler refers. I can definitely relate to each of these negative feelings by looking back at times in my life where I was unsuccessful at living a life full of joy. Tension, nervousness, anxiety and worry are just some of the horrible reactions I identified in my life that served as consequences to regret and fear.
Keeping faith that God desires the best for everyone, there must be a way to overcome these negative emotions in our lives. We are meant to live blessed and fulfilled free from the negativity that steals our ability to experience true joy and receive God's grace. In order to overcome these pitfalls, it may help to combine a better understanding of regret and fear with a deeper look into the quote itself.
In my research of each thief, I have come to acknowledge that they are definitely psychological in nature. Also, regret and fear are related through the deeper meaning of each inside of our mind. While we may fear future loss, failure and hurt, we most likely regret our past actions that resulted in the same losses, failures and hurts. Therefore, we must accept the things we cannot change in order to avoid fearing a future with similar consequences. We should still learn from our mistakes, but also prohibit our minds from dwelling on them.
After analyzing the quote, I also noticed that between 'regret for the past' and 'fear for the future' is the present. I would like to suggest that we can avoid the burdens of regret and fear by focusing our attention on living life in the moment. The feelings experienced as a result of fear and regret have absolutely nothing to do with what we are experiencing in the now.
By living in the present and trusting God, we can conquer the negativity of regret and fear in our lives. We should take comfort in the fact that God will provide us all the strength and courage needed to overcome any challenge. We will then be free from the anxiety that accompanies regret for the past and fear of the future. Even though bad things may happen, it is up to us to trust God's plan and keep horrible experiences from stealing our peace. I invite everyone to allow God to arrest these thieves in our lives and keep them forever locked up away from stealing the joy in our lives.
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