RECONCILIATION >>

Today's post is on something BIG that happened last week. This could end up being a four million page BOOK but I'll spare some details and keep it as possibly brief as I can.

I want to start by sharing a Bible verse that I LOVE >> 'Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.' (Colossians 3:12)

forgiveness. you read that word and someone comes to mind. Maybe a family member, a friend (maybe a person who is no longer your friend), or an entire friend group or family friends. A sister? Brother? Mom or dad? It could be anyone. Maybe they were in the wrong and you weren't, or vice versa! Whoever it may be, keep reading. ;))

Last year my best friend and I had this nasty falling out. It started with a tiny flame, merely a spark. Then it was like someone came in with a load of gasoline and went to town. We thought, hoped, and prayed our time apart would last a week. maybe a month. Just some time to think and gather ourselves. Days passed. Days turned to weeks. Those weeks turned to months. Months to a year. Not a text between us, the only communication was a word in two in passing. We pretty much avoided each other in public.

Any time I saw her driving down the road, going through the Chick-fil-a drive through, passed her in the clothing store, saw her box of letters on the top shelf of my closet, heard someones phone ring with the same text-tone I had set especially for her, I was LOADED DOWN with emotions. I will admit, I cried. wept. sobbed. bawled. wailed. you name it 😂

We went from texting LITERALLY every second of every day, living on FaceTime with each other, hanging out five out of seven days a week - to NOTHING. It was honestly like she had died! I WAS SO SAD! But at the same time, I was upset, sad, a little angry, confused... WHY did we have to "break up"? Why couldn't we have just worked it out? Lots of thoughts. Lots of emotions.

Then, one day almost a year later, I found a letter she had written to me about a year before our falling out. {for Christmas one year we wrote each other "open when" letters} The envelope was labeled in cute handwriting "open when: we are distant" I opened it, bracing my self for emotional impact.

"No no no no! this can not be happening! Man I wish this never happened, we were the best of friends...Sin can do so much damage and It might have gotten between us! If we want to reconnect, let's go grab coffee or call me and we need to catch up. It might have been one of our ideas to distance ourselves and if so, we need to talk with each other and find out why! Man, I love you so crazy much and I hope we can be the best friends we used to be! I also wanted you to know that I am sorry, I know I make mistakes and pretty bad ones too! I pray that got will restore our friendship and that we can catch up! I love you lots!

Love love love,

O-

Tears FILLED my eyes. My heart overflowed with many feelings and emotions. I was like...I gotta text her!!! It took me probably 8 minutes to type"Hey! I hope you have a good week! <3" The little whoosh sending text-sound almost made me pee my pants... but I did it! excited, nervous, what's she gonna say? will she answer?

To answer that question, YES! She did respond and we got into a small conversation and before I knew it we were planning on going out to coffee. *record stops* wait wHAT! Over the next three months, we tried here and there to go out to coffee but things kept coming up one after another. Our schedules were so opposite! I started to think, maybe it isn't God's plan for this to happen right now? I prayed. prayed. prayed. prayed. prayed. "God, please! If it's your will please allow us to reconnect and reconcile. Please, God! If it's your will." Pleading ON MY KNEES into the late hours of the night! Then, last weekend, she texted me. "I'm free tomorrow night. When and where do you want to meet?"

We confirmed official plans and then off I was the next night into Starbucks. Expectations? Not really sure. Nervousness? Through the roof. Heart? pounding in my throat.

Fast forward awkward conversations and just kind of staring at each other trying to make conversation but like, we hadn't seen each other in OVER A YEAR! Where were we to start?!

She looks at me and says "Summer. This is CRAZY. A year. a WHOLE YEAR!" My response? "Yeah, this is crazy. insane! like actually. this is crazy!"

After a little more chit-chatting O looks at me and says, "Okay we really need to talk about what happened."

Right here. This moment. Reconciliation began. Confessions. Apologies. Straight up admitting wrongs."I'm so sorry". "I'm SO sorry". "I shouldn't have said _______." "I should have said __________" "I should have done __________" "I'm so sorry." "I forgive you!" "I hope _________" "I have missed you!" "I am SO SO sorry." We were open books! REPENTANCE WAS PRESENT AND OPEN HEARTS AND RECONCILING WAS HAPPENING AND APOLOGIES WERE FLYING EVERYWHERE! I had tears in my eyes, thanking and praising my Father for His love, grace, mercy, for softening our hearts for us to be able to talk about what happened and make it right! WOW!

I will say, it wasn't easy. But FORGIVENESS is such a beautiful thing! RECONCILIATION is such a wonderful thing! As Christ-followers these are SO SO important! Throw aside that pride. Throw aside that selfishness. DIVE into Scripture and ASK God to help you.

This entire situation of reconciliation is such a beautiful picture of the Gospel. Romans 5:10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

From the very beginning, we have been separated from God. Because God cannot be one with sin, we were apart from Him and our relationship with Him was broken. THEN! Christ CAME! He died on the cross and BORE OUR SIN AND SHAME!

He, who knew no sin, BECAME SIN! so that WE may be RECONCILED to our Father!

How beautiful! How amazing! If you have any questions about the Gospel, reconciliation, forgiveness, you name it (!), leave a comment or use the "Let's Chat!" option and I would be glad to talk with you!

Have a great weekend :) Much love,

Summer Gabrielle

p.s. I love you so much, O!!!!