Kiss and Make-up

So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Luke 17:3

I struggled with how I would share today’s message. I worried. Would it require me to be too transparent?

There could have been many ways to share this reconciliation journey. One way would have been to share from the viewpoint of me as the 7^th of 10 children. Because there was always a need for us to forgive one another for one thing or another and we did so many times. Today I choose to share the story of reconciling with a husband. We have been divorced for 10 years. In 2010 after many discussions and challenges I decided to leave the marriage of almost 7 years. I moved away from my husband, family, and friends. I built a life for myself away from everyone.

Fast forward to 2021, in February of this year, my son reached out to my ex-husband regarding a business venture. I hadn’t spoken to him for 10 years but as they talked my ex asked about me and told my son to tell me to call him. At first, I didn’t know why he would want to speak with me, and part of me wanted to say no. I didn’t want to relive the pain our divorce caused me, but I relented and called him. As it turns out it was the best thing I could have done. I was able to tell him all the things I had held in for all those years. He allowed me to talk about everything I had experienced because of the divorce. He allowed me to be real and often raw and because of this encounter, we have reconciled. We are on a great path and have been seeing each other for the past 6 months. Here is where the transparency comes into play, we have literally kissed and made up. I can truly say that reconciliation is the restoration of friendly relations. That holding a grudge can end up hurting you as much as the person who inspired it.

We must remember that reconciliation is the final step in the forgiveness process, it is the “cherry on top”—an extra bonus when and if it happens. It takes two people to reconcile, but only one to forgive.

I leave you with this scripture – Matthew 18:21-22Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”