What If?
I wrote the poem “What If?” as a reminder to focus on the present and future possibilities and opportunities that God has for us when we trust and rely on Him. So often during my counseling sessions, I see clients who get stuck in the past with regret and what could have been—the what-ifs. The past cannot be changed, so it must be processed, accepted, and learned from, because mistakes are the best teachers in life.
Being able to let go of the past and move forward is essential for one to receive the gifts of the present and the gifts of the future that God has in store for us. “To dream forward with hope, vision, and strategy / Abiding in God’s eternal plan holds the key.” Remember all things are possible with God.
What If?
Those thoughts and fantasies that live in the cobwebs of our minds
They echo in the darkness thoughts of every kind
The foggy shadows cast may stay, not lift
They haunt and speak, "What if?"
The words spoken are regret then sadness and sorrow
They rob the joy, zest, and zeal of tomorrow
This catatonia can paralyze sucking breath and life
In our hearts the dualism causes tension and strife
The mind's broken record plays over and over again
Can these severed bridges of regret ever find mend?
Each moment, each decision, each mistake
Is it too late, will it seal our fate?
"What if" are things that never were
The past is past it can't recur
"What is" is present now
to consciously, mindfully, intentionally live somehow
The past cannot, will not be changed
No matter the consequences it remains the same
It is with patience and acceptance, the need to wait
Trusting in God and His promise to never forsake
Not looking backward, but facing and turning forward
With belief and faith a new door will be opened by the Lord
The old door is closed, shut, locked, not to be opened
This is the case, the truth, not a mere notion
Can we touch our dreams without rejection and recoil of reality?
When we have willing ears to listen and eyes to see
There is God's scheme where things don't need to turn around
Where meaning and significance can still be found
Not "what if," but "what is" and "what can be"
To look, know, and see all the possibilities
To dream forward with hope, vision, and strategy
Abiding in God's eternal plan holds the key
-Dr. Rhonda Milner
"No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you." Joshua 1:5
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11
"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” Hebrews 13:5
"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7
