The first time I heard “Baby, Baby,” by Amy Grant, I fell in love. I fell in love with the music, the words, the cute voice, and the person. This was a song of pure joy. If you can watch that video and not smile, then you do not have a smiling bone in your body.
Amy Grant was a very succesful Contermporary Christian artist. In fact, she is considered to have put Contemporary Christian music on the map. She was the first to have a platinum record, the first to have a Number 1 on the pop charts, and the first to perform at the Grammy Awards.
She has sold over 30 million albums and has had over 1 billion global streams. The list of accomplishments goes on and on. Despite what she had done for Christian music, when she released her Unguarded album in 1985, she was criticized for abandoning her roots and selling out.
Much of the Christian audience turned their back on her. The worst of the criticism came from a reporter who blindsided her in an interview. He said, “You’re deceitful. You’re awful. You’re a liar. You’re horrible.” How do you respond to that kind of attack? I would have probably ended the interview, or lashed out in anger. Her response, however, was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever heard come from a human being. She responded, “I’m so much worse than you think I am, but by the grace of God, I get up every day.”
That says it all. I have more regrets than I could ever count. I have disappointed myself over and over again. Sometimes, especially at night, I lie awake wondering how I could have done such things. But by the grace of God I go on.
I don’t know what standards you hold yourself up to. They might be religion-based. They might be based on humanitarian principles. But everyone with a conscience, and I think that covers all of us, has failed to reach those standards at some point in their life. The regret can be debilitating. The guilt can cause us to quit communicating with a friend or relative. It can become even worse than that.
The first step out of that guilt is the hardest one – forgiving youself. Others are likely to forgive us long before we can forgive ourselves. Here is some advice from someone who is so much worse than you could think I am. Own your regret. Do not rationalize it away. You really did it for whatever reason. Then, know that it is part of the human condition. We make mistakes. We go on. By the grace of God, we get up every day.
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