Second Chances

What's the best second chance you ever received in life? Maybe you did something bad or stupid to your boyfriend or girlfriend, but he or she forgave you and took you back. Perhaps you wrecked the family car, but your mom or dad eventually let you drive again. Maybe you were laid off at work, but eventually the company put you back on. Or the medical diagnosis was dire, but your last check up yielded a clean bill of health. What was your best do-over?

The first summer after my wife and I started dating in college, we fought all the time, it seems. We couldn't get along, and she just seemed constantly irritated with me. (Of course, I was perfectly charming - I don't know what her problem was...not!!) Anyway, it looked as they we just weren't going to make it, and the relationship had run its course. Somehow, though, when we returned to campus that fall, we decided to give it a second chance. Needless to say, I am very thankful and blessed that we did.

Second chances are life-savers. We long for them and need them. In our particular faith expression, we have a story about a great flood and a person named Noah. What the story says about our God is vital. It's there that we learn about a God who is a God of second chances.

I hope you get the second chance you need. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.