The Gift Of Redemption

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Dear Jesus, I messed up, and I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do next. How do I fix this? How do I make things right? Can I have a second chance?

Even as I prayed about the mistake I’d made, apologizing to Jesus, I knew I also owed several apologies to women I’d unintentionally hurt. And I was scared. There were so many things they might say to me when I called them, and my inner dialogue was filled with the what-ifs:

What if she refuses my apology?

What if she hangs up on me?

What if she calls me names and tells the whole world that I’m an awful person?

While all those responses were certainly possible, none of them ultimately came to pass when I worked up the courage to call with a sincere apology. No excuses, no justification—simply a request for forgiveness and a chance to do better.

Each call was met with tears as women, in turn, apologized for their own role in the drama, asking forgiveness for involving others instead of connecting with me directly. As we hung up the phone, I was so grateful that we’d each received a second chance to make better choices the next time there was conflict within our community of fellow parents.

Apologizing can feel incredibly hard. It is a humbling lesson in vulnerability, especially if the other party also played a role in the situation and we are making the first move. And, in a culture that deflects blame or, at best, supports weird half-apologies without an admission of wrong, a sincere apology puts us—even momentarily—in a position of weakness rather than strength.

Do not be intimidated by fears of weakness or vulnerability: true repentance without excuse for our actions or words (regardless of what others did or said) restores us to a right relationship with Jesus. It often has the same result with those around us.

I am thankful that forgiveness followed by redemption—even if it only ever comes from Jesus—rescues us from shame, clears away our sins, and allows us to try again, to do better, and to be restored in our relationships. It is a gift worth the risk of a sincere apology.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Who deserves an apology from you? Call (don’t text) and put things right.