QUOTE : ...I often wondered just how far back my girls - or any of us - would have to trace to stop the flow of regrets.<br /><br />'If we hadn't let our guard down...,' one might confess. But history no doubt contained many pages before that moment. Leaving thoughts unchecked. Challenging the edges of danger, not recognizing that the cliff edge is not solid granite but crumbling sandstone. Entertaining, if only for a flash, risk's possibility. Opening the door to opportunity. Not looking away when sin's bribe was offered, as if the agreement held no consequences.<br /><br />How far back would we have to go to find the blink of time in which a wiser choice - a different choice - would have changed everything?<br /><br />I learned and taught that a person doesn't burn to death by falling on the fire, but by staying there. I learned, too, that grace heals scars, massages the stiffness out of losses, creates purpose out of pain. And that the deeper the mine of shame, the richer the vein of gratitude.