Last weekend, troubled by a slight blunder I made at work, I was not able to sleep peacefully.
With the fragile work environment we have, there is little to no room for error so I dreaded going to my boss and telling him about it. I practiced how I was going to approach him and explain my oversight – I thought about it so much that I literally began dreaming about it at night.
I prayed for the Lord to help me face the fear that was weighing my heart down… I prayed for my boss to have an understanding and forgiving heart… I prayed for us to easily us find a corrective solution and I prayed for the resolve to own up to my mistake instead of leaving it unnoticed.
The next working day, my hand felt cold and sweaty as I waited for the perfect timing to tell my boss and my heart pounded when I finally did… but praise God for he was calm as I explained and said we are going to check and correct the mistake.
I felt light after our dialogue – not only has the burden of fear and guilt truly been lifted from my heart but I made me further my resolution to be more cautious and attentive at work…
… it also made me ponder on our reluctance to go to confession…
I was scared to go and ‘confess’ my mistake because I have a 50:50 chance of being reprimanded, judged or worse punished by my boss but with God we are 100% sure that he will not judge us, reprimand us or punish us if we come to Him with a contrite heart and the sincere resolve to change our ways and repent.
And unlike human capacity whereas three strikes gets you surely chastised, our God is a God of infinite chances and no matter how many times we falter, He will lovingly envelop us in a warm hug of forgiveness if we come to Him with a penitent heart.
Indeed how much lighter would our hearts be if we be freed from the chains of our sins, guilt and shame.
For all the times You have forgiven us and welcomed us back into Your arms may You be Praised forever my God!
