Speaking of 2nd chances...

I wish I could have a do-over.  At the State Fair last week, we stopped at a booth that had fossils and rocks.  The man behind the counter started telling us about the millions of years ago.  I stopped him mid-sentence and said, "You mean thousands of years."  He asked something about why we don't believe in evolution, and I said, "We believe the Bible's account in Genesis 1."  But I said it so smugly and condescendingly.  :(  I should have been kinder and asked him questions.  I should have shared my faith bravely yet in love.  But I didn't.  Since then, I have thought of countless other ways I could have said something, countless things I could have - should have said.  This morning at church, the words of the liturgy in the confession of sins was such a comfort - that though I screwed up, God forgives me and offers me another opportunity in His own good time.

And, since God is a God of miracles and 2nd chances, and because I know that His Word does not return to Him void, I have been praying for that man - that my words would cause him to wonder, to search, to question and doubt his own beliefs.  That another person can continue where I left off, awkwardly though it may have been.  That the seed I haphazardly strew might find water and nourishment and grow.  I pray God tugs on this man's heart and leads him to the Truth and to Christ.

And I hope you'll join me in praying for him.