Friday, April 26, 2024
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
You live in a house for years. You grow up in that house. And then the day comes that you never imagined as a kid. It becomes your responsibility to clean out every last possession in that house and give the keys to a realtor. Your parents are both deceased at this point. There is no need to keep the family home.
And of course, the memories flood your mind. Images of bicycles piled in the front yard are vivid. The music of 1973 is heard once again in the living room. An encounter with your father after a teenage exploit is recalled. Other voices from the past become quite clear. The aroma of a favorite childhood meal fi lls the air. I recently experienced such memories with Doug.
Doug is one of my childhood friends. He sat faithfully with his mother in a hospice facility until she drew her final breath. And then he faced the task of selling the home that his family had moved into in 1967. I empathize deeply with him. I encountered that same responsibility following my mother’s death in 1991.
That night we sat in the living room of his family home and played the same tunes from the early ‘70s that had once blared from those state-of-the-art Marantz quadraphonic speakers. Jim Croce reminded us of his desire to save time in a bottle. Bad, bad Leroy Brown once again haunted the streets. And Boston urged us to not look back! Recounting the stories of childhood antics went well into the night.
In the midst of the reminiscing, Doug made a profound comment. He said, “I have been given so many second chances in life.” We refl ected on several of those second chances that night. I was immediately reminded of the countless second chances I have been given as well. And I was also prompted to think that a second chance is not a one-time event. Recalling the second chances we have been given is an important type of refl ection.
“I have been given so many second chances in life.” What will I do with it? How will that shape my life from this point on? And how will that determine the manner in which I treat other people? Will I extend mercy or judgment?
I am actually a firm believer in the providence of God. I believe God orchestrates events in our lives for a purpose. My prayer is that I will use the renewed opportunities He has given me to help others. May I extend mercy and not judgment to those who are struggling because I know full well that I have been given many second chances through the years. When Doug locks the door of his childhood home one fi nal time, he will walk away knowing there was no shortage of second chances within the confines of those walls. And I will join him in giving thanks.
