There is a theme in our culture that I find confusing at best and concerning at worst? In our society we struggle to be authentic and we try so hard to look like we know what we are doing. As a result, even after saying or doing something ridiculous, offensive, or regrettable, in almost every interview we see on the news, the person who has made a fool of himself or herself says these words:

"I have no regrets."

In other words: "If I had to do it all over again, I would do the exact same thing."

This idea that "I have no regrets" seemed to come up all the time whenever people were being filmed in their worst moments during a reality TV show. I think reality TV became an obsession for many of us because we couldn't believe that people would exchange their reputation or their family's honor for fifteen minutes of fame!

At its essence, I can appreciate this idea. I do believe in a God who can take our worst moments and somehow turn them into something good. It's miraculous, and I have seen Him do that in my life and in the lives of so many others!

The problem with this idea of "living a life without regrets" for me is that I cannot relate. I do have regrets!

What about you? Do you have any regrets? Is there anything in your life you wish you could do over?

For me I have lots of regrets!

Remember VHS tapes? I regret buying all of the Disney movies on VHS before they went back into the vault years before our kids were born.

I regret recording over my daughter's video sonogram while my wife was pregnant.

I regret that I recorded over her video sonogram with Celebrity Boxing.

I regret that Manute Bol beat William Refrigerator Perry in Celebrity Boxing.

I regret not getting a haircut before my yearbook picture for my senior year in high school.

I regret the 8th grade. All of it!

Whether it was trying to impress a girl named Kelly Burch who didn't even seem to know I was alive, getting in trouble in Texas History class, or when Kyle Hoover accidentally removed a mole from my chin with his fingernail while we were slam dancing, 8th grade was a tough year.

Those are just a few of my sillier regrets just off the top of my head! I have far more regrets than I have time to share in this Snippet.

Here’s why coming to grips with our regrets is so important:

Regrets from our past can rob us of the courage and hope we need to create a better future.

Maybe it isn’t regrets from the past that trap you. Instead you find yourself anxious about the future unsure of what you want to do “when you grow up” or overwhelmed by the present.

Uncertain of what to do to move forward, we remain stuck, move in circles, or even find ourselves going backwards. In addition, limitations are imposed upon us by others or adopted by us. Our future is limited by what others tell us and what we begin to believe about ourselves. As a result, we live “normal” and mediocre lives, unable or perhaps unwilling to experience life at our full capacity.

We don't have to give up! We can gain clarity and purpose!

This can be an “etch-a-sketch” moment.

Now is the time to start afresh!

According to Jesus, we were created with unlimited potential in the area of spiritual influence. Our fears, weaknesses, past mistakes, regrets, and background do not have to keep us from impacting others in dramatic ways.

To become who we were created to be starts with discovering our calling.

Have you discovered who you were created to be? Do you know your calling in life?

A couple of years ago, my wife Deborah and I hosted a small group in our house near downtown Austin. We had some amazing people in our group. At the beginning of the group I encouraged everyone to pray and come up with spiritual goals they hoped to accomplish which we then emailed to ourselves 3 months later using www.futureme.org. This clever website allows you to email yourself at a certain date in the future. It is quite mind-trippy to receive an email from your younger self!

Three months later most of us had forgotten we had even gone through this exercise, but a filmmaker in our group named Scott brought his email. He printed it out because he was so excited about all that had come to pass during our group. With genuine excitement Scott showed us how everything on his list had happened plus amazing things he hadn't even considered!

At the peak of his excitement, a great friend of ours in the group said: "Well, nothing on my list happened." Unsure of how to respond in that moment, we all sat in silence. Momentum had been lost until she said one of the most insightful things ever shared in our group. She then said: "the difference is that you worked hard to make so much progress, and I didn’t work at it all."

In the parable of the soils, Jesus shows us how to make progress.

If you are willing to put in the work and answer four specific questions derived from Jesus’ parable of the soils in Matthew 13 and Luke 8, your life will never be the same.