Should Second Chances Happen?

There are questions that follow us throughout our life, especially regarding second chances. And they will revisit us over and over until we think them to death. There are different kinds of second chances, for sure. If you've visited my blog the last couple of days, you know I've been zooming in on Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol. Yesterday I dropped the idea of writing about the power of a second chance.

So, here I am. Facing the age old question that eventually every human is faced with. Should I give a second chance? To a former job? To a former love? To a betraying friend? Truly, only you can answer that question because you know all the underlying truths involved. Was the job a toxic or healthy enviroment? Is the former love abusive? Was the bond with your friend strong enough that you want to rebuild trust?

The details are so intricate of each situation that you must make the call. What can you live with? What can you live without? As I pondered this on my drive to work, it all came together for me. Listening to Pastor Steven Furtick, stevenfurtick.com, didn't hurt. He laid out some fine points to a rebuild.

I took his clarity and layered it with my own experience. A second chance can't be what it was before. That failed. That came down. That didn't work. I know a construction project that has become an absolute terror. The owners decided to build on top of ruins. All kinds of issues like rubble, hidden underground utilities, etc. are popping up and delaying progress.

The project would have went so much smoother if the owner had started over. If they would have used other virgin acerage that's never been touched. If they would have cleared that land and broke ground like a brand new project the process would have been a success. And fast.

To some a second chance is infusing and they embrace it with all their might to make it better than before. I agree with Pastor Furtick, that's the only way it can work. As we used to say on the playground you need a, "Do over!" I hope if you are faced with a second chance, that you take the time to search it out. And that the person on the other side embraces it and runs with it like Ebenezer Scrooge!