Mistakes | Prayers and Promises

Questions to Ponder:

Are you one to forgive and forget?

Do you hold onto those mistakes to beat yourself up with later?

Do you expect yourself to be perfect?

Are you angry when you or others make a mistake?

I have to admit it – I am a recovering Perfectionist. I used to have very unrealistic expectations for myself and for others. I was miserable. And I made everyone else miserable. I could not receive grace or mercy from God because I would not accept it while I was trying to be “perfect”. For me, it shut down my heart. I didn’t allow myself to “let my guard down” with God or anyone else. So I became a “platstic person”. I was never good enough in my own eyes. And neither was anyone else. But I would smile on the outside and say I was just fine…

It took the love of God to break through my mask of perfection. The more I read the Word, the more I received forgiveness and love from the Lord. He loved me right where I was at, and encouraged me to get up and try again.

If God forgave me, who was I to condemn myself?

And who was I to criticize what God had made?

What freedom I found when I finally gave myself permission to make mistakes. Wow, I can’t tell you how great it is to be human today. And now I can extend grace and mercy to others too. Because I have received grace and mercy from God. I forgave myself. God did. Jesus died for all my sins. I believe it. I receive it. And now I can forgive others. I can only give to others what God has given me. If I could not receive forgiveness for my shortcomings how could I forgive others for theirs?

I encourage you today. Forgive yourself. God already did, and I forgive you too – for whatever. Accept healing, accept grace, accept mercy – Jesus died to give it to us. It’s ok to be human today! That’s how He made us anyway. And I really think He already knew we would need His help!

“But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:6-7 NKJV)

I came across this picture on Pinterest. I remember how true it is. And then I remember that anything I learned as a kid can be unlearned. Not all the behaviors I learned will benefit me in my future. And I had to let go of the pain to move forward. I had to forgive the offenders, forgive myself, and forgive God. I got kind of mad at God for a while there. I think we all do at times. We have our perfect little life all planned out and then…well you know, something happens. But can I share something with you? It’s ok. God will make good come out of it – He promised! And the best part of that is that after we gain new information we can always make a new choice. Our endings can be much better than our beginnings!

Quotes About Learning From Our Mistakes and Moving On

“Your life was meant for more than being a life-long doormat for deadbeats, losers, gossipers, nay-sayers, dream-crushers, energy vampires, users, abusers, ragers and passive-aggressive backstabbers.” ― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

“A teachable spirit and a humbleness to admit your ignorance or your mistake will save you a lot of pain. However, if you’re a person who knows it all, then you’ve got a lot of heavy-hearted experiences coming your way.” ― Ron Carpenter Jr., The Necessity of an Enemy: How the Battle You Face Is Your Best Opportunity

“You have to make the decision to let go of the past if you want to move forward.” ― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” ― Phillipians 3:12-14 NIV

“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” ― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

“Stop focusing on your past mistakes. Don’t be ashamed of the things that you’ve done. We ALL have made mistakes. Don’t you see? All of those things helped shape you into the beautiful person that you are today! Hold your head up high because you didn’t allow your past mistakes to consume you. You learned! You conquered! You became a better YOU. Be proud of who you are TODAY!” ― Stephanie Lahart

“Mistakes should be examined, learned from, and discarded; not dwelled upon and stored.” ― Tim Fargo

“Many times what we perceive as an error or failure is actually a gift. And eventually we find that lessons learned from that discouraging experience prove to be of great worth.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey

“As my Popo used to say, life is a tapestry we weave day by day with threads of different colors, some heavy and dark, others thin and bright, all the threads having their uses. The stupid things I did are already in the tapestry, indelible, but I’m not going to be weighed down by them till I die. What’s done is done; I have to look ahead.” ― Isabel Allende, Maya’s Notebook