The Sacrifice of One Path for Another

Lately I read the novel Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, in which she tells the story of a happily married couple with three daughters. Patchett writes beautifully, and her description of this couple’s mutual affection, steady commitment, and respect gave me a pang of regret that I never found such a partner myself.

Pope John the 23rd said, “Every choice is a sacrifice of one path for another.” It’s human nature, it seems, to wonder how our life would have unfolded if we had chosen a different path — but all we can know for certain is that it would be different, with a different set of blessings and challenges. Looking at past choices can help us affirm what once was and is now important to us and how God has been present to us all along the way. However, to spend too much time ruminating on our regrets can blind us to the sacrament of the present moment.

In a recent essay, Garrison Keillor said, “I resolved to give up regret, which is merely self-pity, and to embrace what is true, namely love and kindness, the vocation of cheerfulness, the dedication to the day, this day, each hour.”

No matter the path we have chosen, it contains opportunities for us to embrace love and kindness and to be aware of God’s presence in each day, each hour, each moment. No matter what path we are on, we can say with civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy, “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future,” and thus we can be assured that all will be well.