✨ Word of Life — 18 June 2026 Start Again Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone experiences setbacks. This is not a flaw unique to you. It is simply what it means to be human. But here is the question that actually matters: What matters is not how many times we fall. It is how quickly we are willing to begin again. So many of us spend far too much time replaying the fall — the wrong decision, the harsh word we said, the opportunity we missed, the relationship we damaged. We rehearse it. We relive it. And in doing so — we stay stuck in a moment that has already passed. But growth often belongs to those who spend less time looking backward and more time taking the next step forward. This is not about ignoring what went wrong. It is about refusing to let what went wrong become the final word on who you are. A song does not end because of one wrong note. The musician simply plays the next note — and the song continues, sometimes more beautiful for having recovered from that one moment of imperfection. This is exactly what today's Gospel teaches us through the Our Father. "Forgive us our trespasses" — not "condemn us for our trespasses." God's first instinct toward our failures is not punishment. It is an invitation to begin again. And if God's first instinct toward us is mercy and renewal — shouldn't that be our first instinct toward ourselves as well? The future opens the moment we decide to begin again. Not the moment we become perfect. Not the moment we fully understand why we failed. The moment we simply decide to take the next step. Today — wherever you have fallen, whatever you have been carrying as regret — you are invited to put it down and begin again. 📖 "The righteous falls seven times and rises again." — Proverbs 24:16 📖 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" — Isaiah 43:18–19 📖 "His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning." — Lamentations 3:22–23 🙏 Prayer Lord, teach us not to remain trapped by discouragement or regret. Help us learn from our mistakes and give us the courage to begin again whenever we fall short. Your mercies are new every morning. Let that truth give us the courage to try again today. Amen. 💬 Live the Word Today — let go of one thing you have been carrying as regret. And take one small step forward. That is enough to begin again. #WordOfLife #StartAgain #NewMercies #RiseWithTheWord