APRIL 18, Philippians 3:13, 14 

“These are exactly what I want!” exclaimed Alicia, admiring a pair of shoes she was trying on. “Can I get them?”

“Well... this is our first stop,” said Mom, “but it’s up to you. You are spending your own money.” Alicia was so sure she wanted the shoes that she not only bought them, she also decided to wear them.

In another store, Alicia pointed. “Look! Here are some shoes almost like the pair I just bought.” She looked at them more closely. “These cost less,” she said. “Maybe I should have gotten them instead.”

“Too late now,” said Mom. Later, they again saw the same shoes on sale. Alicia was dismayed. “I should have waited,” she moaned. “I could have saved some money.”

In every store, she continued to pout.

Finally, Mom became annoyed. “Look,” she said, “you found the shoes you wanted, and you got them. Even if you got the worst possible bargain, it’s too late to do anything about it because you’re already wearing them. So quit comparing, and enjoy them. It does no good to waste energy on regrets.”

When Alicia showed the new shoes to her father that evening, she just couldn’t help but tell him about the money she could have saved if she had only waited. “But Mom said to forget about that and enjoy my shoes,” she finished.

Dad nodded. “That’s good advice,” he agreed. “As far as this purchase is concerned, there’s no use going over and over what you wish you had done differently.” Dad paused. “That’s a good thing to remember whenever some project we undertake doesn’t turn out the way we hoped-even those things we do for the Lord. We should learn from past mistakes so that we don’t repeat them, but thinking too much about them just makes us unhappy and doesn’t change anything.”

“Yeah, next time I’m going to shop around to get the best deal,” Alicia said, nodding, “but for now, I’ll just enjoy my new shoes.”

Thought: Do you continue to fret over things you can’t change – like times you didn’t do well on a test when you knew you could have studied more? Try harder next time – press on!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please give me the wisdom to learn from my mistakes so that I will not repeat them. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.