Give it one more chance...

"Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer" (Luke 13:8).

I often wrestle with my own frustration and disillusionment with the difficulty of deep change in myself and our residents. I constantly beg God to grant our residents second chances at life. Providence House in some ways is a garden, where as a community we are able to nurture, water, and prune each other and trust that God will allow us to bear fruit in different areas of our life in due time. How thankful I am for second chances.

I battle to believe that I can look a repentant sister in the eyes and say: “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). Literally, you shall not die. She is battling for not just her spiritual life, but her physical life in this fight with addiction. We know that if she relapses and continues to abuse alcohol there is one unavoidable outcome.


Then I am struck by the patient nature of God. We know that the Lord is waiting to fulfill His promises to us because He wants more people to repent and come to Him (2 Peter 3:9). So will He not also give broken men and women, these small fig trees, chance and chance again to bear fruit?

I am grateful to the Lord for many things this week. A few "second chances" I've witnessed: One of my women receiving a brand new treatment for hepatitis C found that after 7 weeks of treatment, her liver functioning is at a normal level. What would have been a 2-year treatment plan was cut to 1 year. Another one of my women who has been wrestling with the fear of failure finally stepped forward and got a full-time, permanent job. 

Please praise the Lord with me for these things!