He can bring new beauty out of what we’ve destroyed.
He can bring blessing out of our belligerence.
He brings Hagar back. He gives us a second chance to do right.
In the chapters that follow in the Genesis story, Sarai will not abuse her servant again. In future incidents in which Hagar (or Hagar’s son) show disrespect, Sarai will act in accordance with what God wants. Why the change? It’s not because she tacked up a list of “7 Ways Not to Yell at Hagar” but because she recognized only God could restore what she broke.
When we become our worst selves, “I’ll make up for it by …” won’t do. Excuses like, “It was just a little slip-up” or “Everyone does it” won’t help. Even promises to do better next time aren’t the answer. Instead, we must recognize our sin and the damage it’s caused. And then, we turn to prayer and repentance. We can only place the injured party in the hands of God and ask Him to bring back the ones we’ve hurt. We confess and repent, knowing we do not have the power to heal, but with God’s help, we can become the people we are meant to be. In the very next chapter of Sarai’s story, God renames her Sarah and once again renews his promises. In the face of her shame, God makes her into the one He created her to be.
So when you become your worst you, don’t despair. Make room for God to make you into the parent you are meant to be and to work in those you’ve hurt in His own timing, in His own way.
Because that’s what God does. That’s who God is. He keeps his promises. Even when we do not. He restores our lives, our families, our hope … even when we’ve blown up our families with our failures and are sitting in our tents in shame.
Repent, trust and be brave enough to hope again. God has not turned away. Even now, He is at work. {eoa}
Excerpted from Waiting for Wonder: Learning to Live on God’s Timetable © 2016, Abingdon Press. Marlo Schalesky is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction whose articles have been published in many Christian magazines. Her latest release is Waiting for Wonder: Learning to Live on God’s Timetable (Abingdon Press). She is the founder and president of Wonder Wood Ranch, a California charitable organization bringing hope to a hurting community through horses. Schalesky lives with her husband, six children and a crazy number of animals at her log-home ranch on California’s central coast.
