Genesis 32 & 33

“True reconciliation involves a change of heart first and then a change of actions”
When a relationship falls apart, it’s always hard to take the first step to try and recover it, especially when you’ve been the one who’s been hurt.

And it’s also difficult to forgive the other person when they’ve hurt you. So pretty much, we have a really rotten ability to first off apologise and to accept them. Whatever hurt/betrayal goes on in a relationship, we have to heal from that experience first. Then work on the relationship as a whole. And sometimes the healing takes longer for others. Sometimes they never heal. Had Jacob returned a year after leaving, do you think that Esau would still have been so forgiving? I don’t think so. I think Esau needed that time to heal, to adjust, and to accept. And then he could forgive.

Whatever relationships are broken in our lives, maybe it isn’t always such a good deal to force them back into place. Maybe the best thing to do is for both people to wait, for a change in their hearts. And then they’ll be able to change their actions in accordance.

Aisling (in Germany!)