Chasing Tails

I found my mind wandering. Something was bothering me. I was worrying.

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Philippians 4:6,7  (MESSAGE)

That should have done it, but then I began having regrets. If only I hadn’t done this; if only I had done that. I call it the “If” game; I play it too often.

When I play the If game, it’s like a dog chasing his tail. I saw this on a daily basis when our dog, Sol, was a puppy. He was fascinated with his tail, going in circles and getting dizzy until he finally grabbed it. Then he would stand there as if to say, “Now what do I do with my tail now that I have it?”

I chase my thoughts, going in circles and getting dizzy, and then wonder what to do with my regrets. It’s a waste of my time and my peace. I cannot go back in time and change what I have done. Paul says something in Philippians, a bit earlier than the above mentioned verse, which gives encouragement.

“…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”

Philippians 3:13b (NIV)

Paul wasn’t speaking of his regrets; he was mentioning what he had done well. But good or bad, we need to forget the past and move on.

No more chasing my tail with dizzying regrets.

Sol makes no such commitment.