Reality #9: Things Are Not Always Set In Stone

I was driving along the Cumberland Parkway one day, heading back to college after a long morning at work. My eyes were heavy with fatigue and the music from my speakers were blaring the latest hits in order to keep me awake. I peered straight ahead at the open road, my mind a blank canvas. No thoughts of family or friends, of work or school, of relationships or the future. My mind was empty of all thought and reason until something suddenly caught my attention along the right side of the parkway: a pile of fallen rock.

It may seem odd that a simple pile of rock would catch my attention so quickly or even catch my attention at all, but it did. I stared at the pile of rock for what seemed like an eternity. Then, out of nowhere, my blank canvas was filled with all kinds of memories and thoughts. The one that seemed to stand out the most, however, was a phrase that I have heard throughout my entire life. Things are not always set in stone.

I laughed to myself a bit when that phrase came to mind because it was one that I had not thought about in a very long time. As I turned my radio off, I spoke the phrase aloud to the emptiness of my car. The long road before me, I began to ponder all the things in life that, much like the fallen rock, are not set in stone. These things–people, places, relationships, love–are not promised to stay the same forever.


People leave. Places burn. Relationships crumble. Love fades. Often times, you blame yourself for such occurrences. You constantly beat yourself up with thoughts of how you should have said or done things differently. You should have spent more time with your grandfather before he passed away. You should have traveled the extra distance to visit your childhood home before it was torn down. You should have let your pride go and told someone you were sorry while you had the chance. You should have given more and blamed less. These mistakes that are made in life can break a person down. They can wake you in the latest of hour, torment every corner of your mind, and tear apart your soul until it seems like you will never be able to overcome that which you cannot change. You reach the edge of insanity and come to the conclusion that you will never be able to forgive yourself for the mistakes you have made in life...

As I continued to drive along the parkway and as the sun began to shine through the clouds, I realized that although the good things in life are not set in stone, neither are the bad things. The bad things in your life, the mistakes you make, are not 100% permanent. While you can’t go back and change the past or use a giant eraser to remove your regrets, you can learn from your actions and try your best not to make the same mistakes twice. It is once you realize this that you can then begin your journey down the long and difficult road of forgiving yourself. It isn’t easy, but it is possible.


Remember that when you are at your lowest of lows, there is someone who will always be there to bring you out of the darkness and into the light. God can and will forgive you. You just have to learn to not only ask for His forgiveness, but also forgive yourself.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9


~Mj~