(Seal, “People Asking Why” from Seal 2)
Yes indeed, how do you—especially when the garden gate is locked and all you can do is stand there lamenting the damage and hope the person will come around? In other words, especially when all you have is email and you have no idea if they’ve been reading your emails of apology (3 total over several months so as not to be a pest but still trying to make amends) or are they just being automatically deleted without a glance?
Even just a short reply saying, “you’re forgiven," would be great; kind of like a handshake across the gate with nothing more to say, but a second chance would be the ultimate. If I could get back in with them and work to make the garden green again. Of course it would never be the same, but something good—maybe even better—always comes out of second chances.
However, as it stands now, my email inbox feels like a locked gate and the garden is abandoned.
Back to the how: I’d like to believe this is where Mercy and Grace come in. Mercy in that some day you’ll cross electronic paths again (like maybe they’ll stumble upon this blog...?) and Grace that you’re right there ready to make amends at the opportune moment. It’s all I’ve got and I’d like to think God’s Grace is the best thing to have anyway.
Why should I care and keep trying? How could I not? You break something, you pay for it, you hurt someone, you try to make it better—even if it was accidental and you had no clue what you wrote was going to shred the garden to pieces. That’s also why it’s so important to be clear on what you are communicating and how it might be taken (writing rule #3—but that’s for another bloggish muse—and second chances are a part of life rule #3).
Anyway, I will always have my bucket of garden green paint at a hand and will always hope for a second chance...
Okay, gotta go check my inbox again.
~~~
(No Seal CDs, green paint or my inbox were harmed during the production of this post.)
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