Friday, March 12, 2010

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, etc…

As you may have heard me mention before, I am adopted. Last year, I was thrilled when by biological brother, Denis, contacted me. Since then, we’ve emailed each other pretty regularly and I hope that someday soon, I’ll be able to travel to New York and meet him and his family for the first time.

It’s a bit ironic that Denis and my oldest son Andrew share the same April 5th Birthday. Since this is the first year I’ll be celebrating Denis’ birthday, I’ve decided to have a little fun. Instead of just one birthday card, I’m sending him 40. In one of the cards, I’ll write a note that I am making up for lost time and sending him a card for each year I’ve missed.

Now, obviously, all of the cards are a nice sentiment, but I realize that we can never really make up for those lost years. And, honestly, I’m OK with that. I believe that our lives unfolded exactly as they were supposed to, and that God brought us back into each other’s lives when he knew the time was just right.

Is there someone in your life that you, for whatever reason, have lost time with? My friend, please don’t let even more time go by regretting those lost years. It’s true, you’ll never get that time back, but wouldn’t it be wiser to spend your time and energy on what you can do instead of what you can’t?

You can reconnect with that person before another day is lost. You can forgive and seek forgiveness. You can celebrate the time you have now with that person and make the most of your relationship from this point forward.

If you need more encouragement, think about this. God thinks it’s important for us to seek reconciliation…listen to this verse from Matthew: "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

So today, pray that God will give you the courage to take the first step to restore a broken relationship, the discernment to know when the time is right and, when needed, the grace to offer forgiveness

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