What Will You Do With Your Second Chance?

There are countless many occasions when I have screwed up. I know from experience that when you mess up, you don't always receive a second chance. Unfortunately, it is when we make the biggest mistake that we need a second chance the most, but don't receive one. My Sophomore year in High School, I had my first real boyfriend. He was just the sweetest guy, and we really cared about each other. Well, a few months after we started dating, I broke up with him. I had gotten scared, and therefore stupid. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of, because he was a great guy. But I was a Sophomore, things were moving a bit too fast for me, and I was afraid. So instead of asking to take things slower, I broke up with him. Yeah, I know, I'm horrible. In truth, I still really cared for him (no matter what anyone else may have thought or told him) and I didn't really want him to stop being my boyfriend. Well, in my attempt to have a second chance, we became confused. We said things we weren't really feeling, and in the end, he found another girlfriend about a month after we broke up. I lost my second chance.

When I think about that story, it makes me all the more grateful that God gives us second chances. Actually, he gives us unlimited chances. I have to say, I make stupid mistakes. I make stupid mistakes all the time, I'm ridiculous. But God accepts me, ridiculousness and all, and allows me my second chance, third chance, two-hundred and forty-fourth chance. God gives us these chances, but it's up to us to accept them. There does not have to be confusion with feelings. You just have to be honest with Him, tell what you are really feeling, and accept the second chance to do better. The mistake I made with my boyfriend, I try not to make with God. When I mess something up, I don't want to lie to Him to tell Him I don't really care. I don't want to beat around the bush and say things I don't mean. I just want to receive my next chance, and move on to be a better person from it.

Thankfully I now realize that my ex-boyfriend and I were never meant to be together forever. But God is forever . . . He is always there and always loves you even if you try to break up with Him. And when you want to come back to Him, His arms are open wide. He is always available, and He is always ready to be in a relationship with you, a real relationship. It is the deepest love, the most sincere affection, the most endless forgiveness. It's all there for you, without the awkward first date. But you do need to get to know Him to appreciate Him and love Him.

So when it comes to your second chance, I hope you learn from your mistakes. What good is a second chance if it is wasted like the first? I "try" to make different mistakes every time. The more experience you have, and the more forgiveness you receive will strengthen your relationship with Christ. But there has to be an effort to make the next time better. The next chance you get might be your last, so don't waste your second chances.




"Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."
Ephesians 5:15-16

"...make the most of every opportunity."
Colossians 4:5

"Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."..."
Luke 23:34