Like most people, including you, I am a human being. I make mistakes. I always have and I always will.
However, those mistakes usually come with consequences. Some bigger than others, but still consequences that have to be dealt with.
Recently, I hurt someone I love very much. I said something unbelievably hurtful. Truthfully, I don't know why I said it. Sometimes, when someone is upset, they say things they don't mean. This didn't give me an excuse to say what I said, but it happened and I cannot take it back. I can only try and make up for it with the time I'm given.
However, as awful as what I said to them was, I am just as lucky to have someone who loves me enough to give me a second chance. Not to forgive me quite yet, but to at least try and work towards forgiveness.
He doesn't have to do that. He could have, and still could choose to walk out of my life and never come back. He could choose to tell me how awful I am. He could choose to let those words tear us apart. But, he didn't.
Second chances like this don't come often. A lot of times, if you mess up, you lose. You're so lucky if someone or something allows you to have a second chance. A chance to redo what you made a mistake on. A chance to fix things, and be better than who you were the day before. The saying goes that you should only try to be better than the person you were yesterday. I like that.
To the person that decided to give me a second chance:
I'm so sorry. You know that already, and I hope you know how much I mean it. I hope you know how much I appreciate this second chance. I hope you know how much I appreciate you. I appreciate all that you do and have already done for us. You mean the world to me, and I'm unbelievably grateful for the time I have with you.
Here's the thing, reader. When I got that second chance, there is no way I wasted it. To me, that second chance was a wake up call. It showed me how much I wanted and needed this person in my life, how much I love them and how lucky I am to have them. It showed me that I would do anything and everything to make this person happy, to make them smile, and to never again experience the feeling of almost losing them.
The moral is this: you're only human. Inevitably, you're going to make mistakes. But your character shows the most by how you handle the consequences of those mistakes. Hold on tight to the people you love, because you never know how quickly you can lose them. And finally, hold on to the second chances you get. You never know how many you'll get in this lifetime. Make them count.
