Just Keep Trying (from the Looking Back Series 1/6/2017)

I make the same mistakes over and over and over again.  Thankfully, in many instances, I recognize them more quickly or they are far and fewer in between, but I still make them.  They are good reminders of the need to just keep trying.

Here's an example.  When my kids were little, it often happened at the start of my day, that I didn't like how my day began.  It might have been that, in my mind, my children weren't moving quickly enough and I kept pushing and rushing them, even yelling at them.  The circumstances were either that I needed to drop them off at daycare before work or I was behind in my work which was making me grumpy or agitated.  On days when I recognized that this was not how I wanted the day to begin for us, I would ask my kids for a do-over.  They always said "yes" which thankfully gave me the opportunity to begin again.

Now, even though my children are young adults, I sometimes lose myself to to-do items and I snap at them when I'm in the middle of something.  A recent example is that I was working at my computer at the kitchen table when one of my children came out for lunch and wanted to converse.  Instead I kept working.  After the third interruption, I said "what?", with that sarcastic tone that says "what now?"  I immediately regretted it.  It was enough to remind me of what's really important.  I took time to converse.

When I asked, "God*, what else do I need to know about this?" I was compelled to open the Bible to a psalm.  This day, it's Psalm 80, which is very repetitive with words beginning with "re" such as restore, revive, return.  This prefix means to do again.  Restoration, specifically, is about fixing or mending things to their original wholeness.  For me, this includes restoration of relationships, which is exactly what God is asking me to do.
-----------------------------------------
Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.
-----------------------------------------
Reflective questions:
1.  Is there a segment of your day, yesterday or today even, or a specific segment of every day in which you'd like a do-over?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, "God, what do you want me to know?")

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH, Hanging Lake 

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net).