“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24.
There is a sense of finality about the past. Once a moment passes, we can never bring it back. Some people dwell on the past and live in regret and shame. They live in a world built by their minds out of scraps from memories of mistakes and failures, where all they could do is think about what could have been or what they should have done. In this self-manufactured world, nothing changes because nothing can be done. As a result, its inhabitants drown in depression and hopelessness riding on this rocking chair that they hope would take them to a better place.
But we all have a choice. We can live in the past and be despondent or get busy living in the present and be filled with hope. For as long as we are alive, there is always an opportunity for a new beginning. When a relationship fails, you can repair it and start anew, or you can build a new one altogether. If you have not been a good parent for the past twenty years, you can try being a better one for the next twenty; it’s never too late. If you went with the wrong crowd and got yourself involved with drugs and alcohol and did poorly in high school, you have another chance to do well in college and hope for a better future. If you ran your business to the ground because of poor judgment or lost your job because of bad work ethics, there are always new opportunities for you to apply what you learned from your mistakes and be successful next time. If you sinned against God, in small or big ways, one time or repeatedly, you could repent and know for sure, that you will be forgiven.
No matter how grave our mistakes were or how deep a hole we dug for ourselves, there is always hope. Each new day brings hope for a new beginning. We want a reset and an opportunity to start over and hope that we get it right this time. But what we are really hoping for is not just a new beginning, but rather, a new and better ending. We want another chance to approach life differently in a way that leads to an ending where we feel fulfilled, at peace, and truly happy. Unless we can clearly identify the specific outcome or ending we desire, each opportunity for a new beginning will be a journey to nowhere. We would continue to live a life of new beginnings without attaining the new endings we are hoping for.
Everyone deserves a second chance. We all made mistakes in our lives and will continue to make mistakes for the rest of our lives. Just as we are not infallible, the people around us are not either. It is important to learn to forgive yourself and forgive others always. We should be magnanimous in forgiving and humble in receiving forgiveness. Life is a race. Some know where the finish line is, but some are lost. Some will falter along the way, and some will quit altogether. We are all in this race together. It benefits no one when one of us does not finish the race. Let us encourage each other along the way by helping those who fall rise up and continue running. Remind them that everyday is a new day and a chance to step into a new beginning. When it is up to you to decide, always give yourself and others a second chance. It does not matter how many times we have to start over. What matters is our willingness to try again. We do not stop trying just because we keep making the same mistake, the same way we do not quit eating just because we get hungry again a few hours after we eat. Because life is a race, we need the discipline to train, practice, and regulate what we consume. We need to make time for prayer and studying the word of God. We need to practice living the way we want to live. We need to be around people who will help us grow spiritually, and we need to be selective in what we choose to watch, listen to, and talk about. And like what Maya Angelou, a popular American poet and civil rights activist once said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." Yes, we all deserve a second chance, but it is up to us whether we choose to take it. The hope of having a new and better ending begins with choosing to accept the gift of a new beginning.