There are many forms of loss. Some happen abruptly – a sudden death, an acute illness. Other loss is more gradual – the progressive disability of a chronic disease, the deepening alienation of a loveless marriage. Some losses have no blame associated with them – they just happen – but sometimes we carry the pain of knowing that we are responsible for a loss.
We describe this as regret and it can be one of the bitterest experiences. Hebrews recalls the agonies of Esau, ‘who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights’, but later ‘even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done’ (Heb.12:16-17).
Regret is familiar to all of us. Hurtful words spoken in the heat of the moment; rash deeds or reckless decisions in the absence of proper reflection. Life, sadly, is full of such moments and we live with the consequences. Much of the time, like Esau, our tears of regret are powerless to change what we have done.
