Solutions June 2017 | Page 29

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 to
not yell at Hagar,” but because she
recognized that only God can restore
what she had broken.
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 that we do not have the
power to heal, but with God’s help
we can become who 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 who 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 for him 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.
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.
Excerpted from Waiting for Wonder: Learning to
Live on God’s Timetable © 2016, Abingdon Press
Solutions 29