The Room of Regrets

“The Room of Regrets”


When you are facing a trial that is as intense as the one we have found ourselves in you visit often the “room of regrets”, you know that place in each of our brains where we store up the “shoulda, coulda, woulda” stuff. We tend to avoid this room much like the hall closet where everyone just opens the door enough to shove in that item we need to hide. The problem is that some day that closet will need to be cleaned, someday we will need something tucked away in there, and no matter how much we do not want to be the one to deal with it, we must, so in we go. With Dawn facing (short of intervention by the Lord) her entrance into the Lords presence I have found myself spending a lot of time in the “room of regrets” seeking to clean it out before it’s too late. You see once Dawn has moved on the door becomes locked, it will still exist of course, however I will no longer be able to clean it up. This room will then become a constant reminder of the shoulda, coulda, woulda, burdens of life, a permanent sanctuary of the things in life that would seek to bring me down, a chamber of negative thoughts locked away forever. Their only purpose to cause me pain and remind me of my failures in regards to my relationship with my wife. You see I know about this room all too well, I have another room, filled with those regrets. In 1988 my father died without warning from a massive MI (heart attack), and the door to the room of regrets between he and I was locked forever with no opportunity for cleaning. It remains to this day a room filled with the “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s “of our relationship, a constant reminder of all the things we left unsaid, the hurt, the pain, and the selfishness of our interaction. Thankfully the Lord has also placed a lock upon that door, and His is made of blood, the redeeming blood of Jesus, the sacrificial blood of the lamb that heals wounds, and brings about forgiveness. Oh yes it eases the pain, but the memories will always remain.

Dawn and I have had the wonderful opportunity over the past few months to clean this room, to empty it out, and to refill it with joy, peace, and healing, it is no longer the room of regrets a place of destruction, no now it is the room of restoration. No longer will it be a room to be avoided, but rather now a place of refuge, a place of strength, a place of healing, and a room to be treasured. A room where the blood of the lamb provides warmth and comfort like that favorite blanket on a cold winter night, in front of a warming fire. Oh what joy I have in knowing that each one of my children will not be left with a room of regret where their mother is concerned, for they have been blessed by the peace of our God.

My question now has become one of deeper concern, are there other rooms that I have hidden away, are there those closets in my life as the results of broken relationships with others? If so then I must find them and while I am able I must open the door, and clean up the mess, the one I have been avoiding for so long. How about you, do you have “rooms of regrets” closets or warehouses filled with anger, resentment, and hurtful words cast out in a moment of rage? If so may I suggest that you too do yourself the favor of cleaning them up, our God will give you strength, and there is “healing in His wings”. The only regret will be if someday, somehow, this room becomes locked forever a tomb filled with pain and suffering, a “room of regrets”.

Gene Burroughs

PS. Dawn spends most of her time sleeping these days; she eats very little and has become extremely weak. We thank you all for your continued prayers, love, support, cards, and meals, for we know without them we would never make it through our pain, but our God is able and He has truly become our strength!