We're human. We're imperfect, and that means we make mistakes. We make mistakes pretty much ever day- as least I do. And we beat ourselves up for these mistakes. The mistake replays over and over in our heads, and sometimes it seems like a trap that we will never get out of. But that isn't what life is about. Life is a time to make mistakes, but it isn't defined by our mistakes. We are being tested, and there's a huge learning curve. Heavenly Father sent us here to earth to figure things out for ourselves. But He loves us, and He wants us to succeed so He didn't set us here on our own. We have the Holy Ghost to guide us, scriptures to inform us, church leaders to lead us, parents to raise us, and friends and family to help us. And most importantly, we have a Savior to pick us up every single time we make those mistakes. Because mistakes are inevitable- they're part of the learning process. The most important thing is that we learn. That we move on, and that we forgive ourselves. We can't let mistakes define us. We are defined by how we respond to mistakes and how we change because of them.
Mistakes have just been on my mind a lot lately. And I have decided to not let them define me. I will be allow myself to be changed and to become a better person - to become who Heavenly Father wants me to be. Because I know that I'm going to continue making mistakes. Probably daily. But I will also continue to rely on the Atonement for forgiveness and the power to move past those mistakes that I do make. I am in charge of who I become.
I like your mentality about mistakes. I too have been haunted by my mistakes, and tend to focus on how much I've messed up rather than allow myself to see how I've grown (and often in ways that wouldn't be possible if I hadn't made mistakes to learn from in the beginning). We are not our mistakes, we are a product of the atonement where the inputs are sin, repentance, and faith. Rather than focus on what we've done wrong, we ought to focus on how we would never revisit those mistakes and how much stronger we are now because of that learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! This something a lot of people, including me, struggle with. We expect so much of ourselves, but we are doing better than we think we are. Thanks for sharing!
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