You’ve done something or failed to do something. Whichever failure it is, it feels awful now. You’ve done it to a family member, coworker, your spouse, yourself. Your God. You have violated their trust, their goodness to you. You have breached the relationship and fear that it might not be fixable. The sickness of it fills your heart, your guts, your bones. The horrible anticipation of your relationship never being right again steals all the joy from your soul. Unless you’re a sociopath, you know what I’m talking about.

Then dawn breaks. However, you got there; the breach is healed. The weight lifts from your body. You can breathe again. Forgiveness floods in and hope with it. Only on television is everything back to exactly as it should be, then. But the hope that things are getting better, will be better, is a joy among joys.

I experienced my greatest such moment while driving to work one morning on a road I had never taken before because it had just finished construction and opened. (The analogy of that isn’t lost on me, but I am trying not to overwork it.) My life was falling apart because I was losing my family. All that stuff I’ve just written, that’s me. The God I had ignored for a decade heard my prayer and answered. He welcomed me back with forgiveness. He healed the breach. All our moments like that are why Jesus came.

Heaven wants to celebrate your relationship restored. Whether it is with another person or God Himself. Remember how good it feels when forgiveness wins. Do all you can so you may be forgiven and forgive all by the strength of the Holy Spirit, for He is the author and sustainer of all forgiveness. It sounds hard because it is. Hard for us and our pride, not for God. Celebrate the joy of a restored relationship. Enjoy the moment!