Hindsight is 20/20. That is what they tell us. I’ve been reading a book called Farewell Titanic and one of the officers had formerly been disciplined and demoted for a short time for disobeying an order. (It was actually a good thing he did). One of the comments the author made is this officer regrets not disobeying Captain Smith’s order of “full steam ahead.” He was also the one who made the call to avoid the berg. He wished he had trusted his gut instinct of hitting the berg straight on (they doubt Titanic would have sunk then).
Hindsight is good to have…sometimes. We can right wrongs. We can learn from our mistakes. We can see how a different choice would have could have turned things around.
But sometimes hindsight is bad. Always looking in the rearview mirror keeps distraction high. It keeps preoccupation on the cusp. It keeps us looking over our shoulder (ever tried that while mowing your lawn?). Sometimes the past just needs to be buried. Dealt with and buried. You can’t change it. Especially the ugly parts (we all have them).
I hope you are looking through your windshield and not your rearview mirror.
And yes, I am a Titanic buff.
I have spent the past 10 years focused on the rearview mirror. I know that this is killing me, but I can’t get my mind to listen and look forward.
Oh, and by the way, you do know that the Titanic was unsinkable? So there is that.
i will keep praying for a forward look. And yes, I do know “they said” the titanic was unsinkable. supposedly it was said, “Even God couldn’t sink that ship.” He didn’t have to. An iceberg did it for Him. 🙂
Every screw up should be a learning experience. As well as things that turn out right. Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Everyone needs to find their way. Experiences are the process by which we learn. If someone keeps making the same mistake that is a problem.
My sympathies recently go to the poor souls that go through life looking at their phone and punching buttons rather than watching where they are going or even worse where they are driving.
I agree with you Jeff. I only disagree with you on having sympathy for those who are distracted while driving. i would give sympathy only because those folks who are constantly looking at phones are losing out the marvelous thing called “life without technology.”
I’m all for looking ahead and moving forward. Maybe it’s not looking in the rearview, but we certainly do need to remember to avoid the same pitfalls that beset our first few laps… Like all things balance is key. Seems like too often I’ve lost mine!
I agree with you Floyd. We do need to remember to avoid.
Yep! If we keep looking over our shoulder, we can’t see the road God has placed in front of us. I’d sure hate to miss a step He meant me to take!
Blessings, Bill!
I’m with you on this martha. Life is too exciting with Him to keep looking with regret backwards.
From Pearline (a friend): How timely this message is. You see back in 2007 I accidently sent an instant message to the wrong person. I was being very human at the time and not Christ like at all. The message was about her brown nosing in the office to work her way up the ladder. She sent me a message back, “Umm I think you sent this to the wrong person” I immediately apologized to her face to face and at the time she forgave me. But for reasons easily understood we were never very friendly again. Then I saw “War Room” and requested a meeting with her which she denied. I then messaged her and told her I had seen this movie and it was suddenly revealed to me she had shown me grace. (she is not a believer). She could have had me fired for slander, defamation of character or insubordination at the time of the incident but she had chosen not to. I shared a little about the movie and I thanked her and told her I would always be indebted to her for her actions that day. She replied she didn’t want anyone indebted to her and all she asked was that when I worked with her I did my job. Well, as this only happened a month ago I was surprised to find we would be working together this past week. I prayed hard that I would only show Jesus throughout my time with her. It was a great class and there was a complete character transformation for both of us. I had held those feelings of guilt for over 5 years and it had dwelled heavy on my heart. But when God revealed the truth to me through that movie my burden was lifted and I cant thank him enough. Yes, we need to let go and let God handle our problems with us.
Thanks for your honesty Pearline. How challenging your thoughts are to really make sure if we text we are texting to the right person. But even more…what we text is not damaging to someone.
I prefer insight instead of hindsight.
Much preferred.
Hey Bill – I’ve tried emailing you but it gets returned. Can I reach you another way?