I survived Walmart yesterday. I must say that shopping for school supplies was relatively painless this year. Zach is eleven, going into the sixth grade (sniff)--as they get older, the list gets shorter. I didn't get frustrated until I realized that I forgot where I parked. (The heat index in Texas yesterday was 107.) So think of me the next time you notice a crazy person wandering around a parking lot looking for her car. Do you ever do that? It's so embarrassing!

Moving on. Last Thursday was meet-the-teacher night. While we waited in line, Zach recognized a familiar face (which all kids pray for as they enter a new classroom), and I saw that the boy's mother also had a six-month-old baby. That was me ten years ago. I had Zach when my oldest son was twelve, only he wasn't born into a happy, healthy family. I was a mess. For a brief moment, I felt a little pang in my heart. Not for me. Not for Zach. He only knows the blessed life we have today . . . but my older sons. Ouch.

I found myself regretting that when they were Zach's age life was hard. From the depravity of my soul, I made it hard for them. When something reminds me of that time in my life, I bow my head and thank God for all that He has done to transform and redeem our family. I've been a healthy mother to my older sons for many years now. And the truth is, I will mother my adult sons for a longer period of time than their childhoods. There will come a day when my time as a healthy mother will surpass the time I was unhealthy. Plus someday I will be a fabulous grandmother! (All in due time.)

Christopher and Matthew are now ages twenty-three and nineteen. When they need something they come to me--because they know they can. For prayer, for counsel, for support, for chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes . . . they go where they know they are loved.

Do you have regrets about the past? It's normal, I think, to wish you could go back and make life easier for the loved ones you hurt while you were hurt. But God has a way of taking our mistakes and transforming them into an occasion for testimony. No guilt. When you remember something you regret, tell God. He'll restore your peace just as He did mine.