{NOT A GOD OF SECOND CHANCES}

I prayed softball in junior high and high school. Yes, you read that right. As a defensive player I would stand out in right field and PRAY no one would hit the ball to me. Instead of chanting “hey batterbatter”, my mantra was “pleeeeaseplease God.” On offense I displayed legendary prowess by strategically scrunching my body into Lilliputian proportions to hide the strike zone. Sometimes I got hit by the ball.Yes! First base here I come. And running the bases? I run like a penguin. Enough said.

Every time I got a second or third or fourth chance to not embarrass myself, I blew it. When it was my turn I would pray with all my might.

‘Please God, help me not suck. Help me not to bruise too badly this time.’

Every once in a while I would take the chance, close my eyes, and swing. But most ‘ups’ I just hunkered down and hoped for the best. Seriously, the best thing about softball for me was the sunflower seeds. And I won’t even discuss my adventures in volleyball.

Last week I was talking to my daughter. After a challenging few months, God is sending her on a great adventure. I asked if she was excited, and there was silence for a moment before she answered.

“I just feel like God is giving me a second chance. I don’t want to mess it up.”

Ugh. Her words bounced around in my head for a few days, nagging at me. Honestly, I tried to ignore them and move on. But something about that didn’t feel right to me. Second chances are good, right? I’ve heard “God is a God of second chances” more than once. How can a second chance be a bad thing? In sports, in writing, in cooking (just ask my family about this one sometime) second chances give us an opportunity to improve.

But here’s the thing: 

Second chances aren’t meant to be a lifestyle.

Need an example? Can I be honest with you? (Ok, deep breath.) The truth is, I’ve been struggling with my weight for years. Decades, actually. It’s one of those ‘strongholds’ in my life. It’s not a bad thyroid, trauma from my childhood or an unusually slow metabolism. Every day I make choices that keep me this way, and every night I’m miserable. When I find a new diet or promising exercise program, or a cool event like the Fearless and Fit Retreat, I say to myself,

“I just feel like God is giving me a second chance. I don’t want to mess it up.”

Listen up people, here’s the deal. I carry my “first chances” around with me every day. Every pound, every flabby part of me is a reminder of my past failures and disappointment in myself. I realize many strongholds are not as obvious to the world as overeating, but we all can carry the weight of our past ‘chances’.

God did not intend for us to live Second Chance lives.

When we view something as a second chance, we are reminded that there was a first chance. A first failure. A first disaster. We are branded, labeled, weak, rejected.

So think for a minute now; how do you think God views it? Here’s a clue:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” –Is 43: 18-19

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here.” 

-2 Corinthians 5:17

Get it? God doesn’t see second chances. He sees new things. My past is part of who I am, but I don’t have to carry it around with me forever. Either do you.

So let’s do this together. Are you with me? Here’s what we will do.

1. Identify that first chance thing in our lives.
2. Sift it. Pick out the good seeds. Identify what we’ve learned.
3. Banish that ugly first chance. Throw it out. Draw a line straight down the middle of today and refuse to let that first chancecross over into the future.

We will banish it, with the help of a strong God who removes it from us as far as the East is from the West. We will banish it, with the help of a mighty God who makes all things new. We will banish it, where it will stay in the early chapters of our lives as a testimony of God’s great mercy and grace and his lavish love for us. We will embrace the entire story of our lives, even the ugly parts, and today will be a new thing.

You were made for this kind of living. So get out there. See it like God sees it. It’s not a second chance. It’s a new thing. Open your eyes and swing with all your might. You’re not alone. You were made for this kind of living. So live it.

Meet The Author...

Jenna has been married to her Prom date for 23 years. Her 4 kids are all grown up and now she's finding more time than ever to chase her dream of being a writer. Although she's blessed with a successful career, her passion for 15 years has been volunteering with teens and young adults as a youth worker and small group leader. Her goal in life is to love God and love others. She's gearing up to start a new blog about her weight loss journey, but you can check out her current blog at http://terriblysweet.blogspot.com