August 2, 2007

Here is another story from the files of Priority One:
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of having both of my sons join me at the Lake Champion men’s weekend. Josh had just recently moved back to the East Coast from Colorado and was settling with his wife, Heather, and their beautiful daughter, Bailey (No, I am not prejudiced!), close to the Hartford, CN area. Our other son, Mark, was entering his junior year at college, and was taking a couple of days off from classes to attend the weekend with his older brother and me. I must admit that, while I was very excited about them coming, I was very nervous about how they would like the weekend.
It did not start off well. Mark’s car broke down just a few miles away from his school, and we had to make arrangements on the fly for him to have it towed to the Lehigh Valley, for his mother to meet him, and for him to pick up another car for him to drive up to the camp. If that wasn’t bad enough, Josh almost did not come at all. He was going to get a later start due to his work, and was considering blowing it off all together. Once he decided to come, with the gentle prodding from his wife, he had to fight the horrible traffic between Hartford and the New York Thruway. It took him quite a long time, and he arrived right at the end of dinner.
The weekend went uphill from there, and the three of us had an enjoyable, fun time together. I could tell that, as the weekend went on, Josh, particularly, seemed to be relaxing more and was beginning to connect with other men from the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere. He, also, was connecting to Bart Campolo, our speaker that year. On Saturday night, we had a brief meeting time in which we gave the opportunity for someone to stand and tell briefly what God was doing in their lives, as a result of the weekend together. Toward the end of the time, in which I was moderating from the front, Josh stood to speak. I must admit that I was now REALLY nervous.
Josh introduced himself by saying that he and I had struggled in our relationship for 12 or so years, and that he had built up resentment and bitterness towards me, as a result of years of misunderstanding. He then turned to me, saying, “Dad, I forgive you, and would you please forgive me? All that I want is to be your son and your friend.” Needless to say, I was crying like a baby as I came off the stage and we embraced. It took incredible courage and risky-ness for Josh to stand up and say what he did. I am totally proud of him and am so excited about our relationship today. We have come a long way since that weekend, and I am glad to report that we are so much closer as a result of his courage to break through.
How about you? Josh took an incredible risk to seek to restore our relationship. Are there any relationships that you need to go back to repair? A son or daughter? A parent? Your spouse? Maybe there is someone outside of your immediate family that you need to go to. Take time today to resolve this, as Josh did, and to work towards restoration. Will you begin to do that today?