Think a minute...This is a true story about a boy named Walter who lived with his family on a farm. One day when Walter was seven-years-old he went exploring. He was surprised to see an owl sleeping on a low branch of a tree.

He remembered his father telling him that owls rest in the daytime and hunt at night. Walter thought: “What a great pet this funny bird will make—if I can just get close enough to catch it before it wakes up.” 

Quietly, Walter moved closer until finally he was standing right under the owl. Slowly he reached up and grabbed the bird by its legs. The owl suddenly woke up and began beating its wings, screeching loudly as it fought for its life! But as afraid as this young boy was, Walter did not let go of it. In fact, he threw the bird to the ground and stomped on it!

When the owl stopped moving…Walter looked down at this special bird and realized he had killed it. He felt horribly sad and guilty as he ran home crying. In fact, later that day when he returned to bury the bird, he was still crying.

Furthermore, he regretted it throughout his entire lifetime and was so ashamed that he did not tell anyone what he had done until many years later. 

That painful experience taught Walter such a powerful lesson on the value of life that he never again killed another living creature. Walter could not bring that one bird back to life, but he used his regret to motivate him to bring a whole world of animals to life—by drawing pictures of them.

Walter is now dead and gone, but his drawings and pictures live on in the art of Walter…Disney. Walt Disney, the creator of Disneyland and the wonderful world of animal stories and movies now enjoyed by millions of people worldwide.  

We all have regrets of wrong, painful things we have done to others. Yet we can choose to use those regrets to bring positive, permanent changes in our life and others around us. Won’t you ask forgiveness from your Maker whom you have hurt the most by not living life His way that He created you to enjoy?

With His love and power, Jesus will help you use your regrets to make your much-needed changes that last. Only then can you become the truly successful, godly person He created you to be.  Just think a minute…