I want a second glance.....

     Many years ago when my nephew was young, my brother and his family were taking a trip to Myrtle beach, SC. My family was going there also but at a different time. My nephew thought it would be cool if he placed something somewhere and I look for it and bring it back home. He put a mark on a rock and hid it. I looked very intently with the directions I was given and found it. He just thought that was the greatest thing since sliced cheese.
     However, there are some places you go that other people have gone that when you compare notes you find there were some things that you missed. What is that we say when this happens? I will look for that next time I go there. We will definitely eat there when we go back. Have you ever said that only to go back and that great BBQ place you were told about now is a pizza place? You could almost taste those ribs in your mouth. Oh the disappointment that flows through your body at that moment. You know the feeling and the question of what now surges through your system like crazy. You don't really want to eat anything now. Disappointment has left a bad taste in your mouth.
     Consequently, life is full of missed opportunities. moments when it was right there and we blew it. Our relationship with God is that way. He spends years orchestrating a meeting between you and someone else and at that very moment, we get distracted. Distracted by a phone call that comes in, a song on the Ipod, or possibly another person we are already with. It may even be the hardcore reason, we have simply lost our ability to care. Lets pause for just a second and reflect on last week. Did I miss something? Did a meeting with someone go by? Did I blow it?.........................................
     Word of encouragement..... We are not alone. Peter did many great things for God but there was this moment in history that Peter messed up. He denied even knowing Christ and many of Peter's great acts slides to the back of the room because of that moment. It happened to Benedict Arnold. He was a great revolutionary. He accomplished many great things to better our humble beginnings but one bad decision, one moment in the wrong decision. How do we know Benedict Arnold? That's right, a traitor...... For Peter, there is a great story. On the day of the resurrection, Jesus told Mary to go tell His disciples and Peter to meet Him in Galilee. Peter was getting a second chance. Could he go back to the same spot and do it all over again? Of course not, but he could realize his mistake and seize the next moment to declare he was a follower of Christ. Do you think Benedict Arnold would go back and fix his mistake? Of course he would.
     I want a second glance so give me a second chance...!!!!!!!
God give us three things:
     1. Your eyes so I can see everything that I was meant to see
     2. Your arms so I can wrap them around people who needs protected and encouraged
     3. Your heart for the broken hearted and the hurting
Keep your eyes open, you never know who God has been working on to bring right in front of us....

I am John Sowders and I am Second......