I watched a badly made TV movie this week. My husband was out of town, and I was looking to pass the evening hours after the kids were in bed. I knew two minutes into the film that is was going to have a predictable story-line and poor acting. I watched it anyway, strangely intrigued at how badly a movie could be made and still make it to the television.
With an introduction like that, I won't share the name of the film. All that needs to be known is the predictable plot part.
The movie was about a woman who relives a day in her life over and over again until she gets it right. Overdone in Hollywood, for sure. Yet, I was somehow genuinely happy for her when she finally learned all the lessons she was supposed to learn, the credits rolled, and I was sleepy enough to go to bed.
As I crawled between the covers, I had one loose thought rolling around in my head.
"What would I do differently tomorrow if I was reliving today?"
I closed my eyes and thought back over the details of my day. A couple of encounters rose to the surface.
A conversation I wished I had worked harder to infuse with gentleness.
A moment I could have siezed to spend time with my daughter.
A phone call of encouragement I meant to make and didn't.
What if tomorrow I could get a re-do? How would I change it?
I don't advocate living in regret. It makes a terrible life-partner. But, there's something to be said for evaluation. For repentance. For change. For making different choices next time.
And I did choose something different next time. The very next day, I recognized a conversation similar to the one I had wished I could change. And it arrested me. I didn't want to be lying in my bed wishing I had done this one differently, too.
So, I stopped. Slowed down. Thought about the words. Took my time to make it what I wanted it to be.
When I went to bed that evening, I asked myself the same question, "What would I do differently tomorrow if I was reliving today?" And that conversation didn't make the list.
Something else did.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."
- Lamentations 3:22-23
