In the Wake of Regret

Using a Missed Opportunity or Regret to Self-Reflect

In Greek mythology, Kairos is the god of opportunity, portrayed as a man with winged feet who is always on tiptoe, indicating constant movement. Kairos adorns a long, single lock of hair that extends from an otherwise bald head. As Kairos passes by, there is a fleeting moment when one can seize him by the hair before the opportunity passes. 

Standing in the wake of a missed opportunity is a shadowy, cloaked goddess named Metanoia. Metanoia symbolizes the regret of missing an opportunity. In that place, Metanoia offers something important- space to reflect and transform. 

Each of us has hundreds of these moments in our lives. We stand in the wake of heartaches and missed opportunities and decide how we respond and who we will be. But sometimes, we are so consumed by the pain we are experiencing that we miss the gift it offers.

From the time I was a little boy, I idolized basketball. Throughout school, I was one of the best players. I never worried about "making the team" because I knew I would always be a starter. Heading into my senior year, I expected the same.

As our team finished practice one day, the coach blindsided me. He told me I would not be on the squad. Believing it was a joke, I laughed, but he didn't. I later found out I was the casualty of small-town sports politics.      

That experience destroyed me.

I wish I could tell you that I looked within and that it made me a better person at that moment, but I didn't. I carried hatred and unforgiveness in my heart for years. Living out of this wound made me bitter, angry, and resentful.

But here is the beauty of metanoia. It continually offers space to breathe and self-reflect for as long as we stand in the wake of pain and regret. It gives a person the opportunity to look inwardly and evaluate who they have become. It creates room for one to search their motives and impulses. And it opens opportunities for the Spirit to heal us and become something new if we allow it.

Question

1. Spend some time this week taking inventory of your missed opportunities or regrets that have wounded you. How have they negatively affected who you are?

Peace,

Brandon