There are so many things in my life that I would consider highlights - it's hard to narrow it down to a few paragraphs. I almost wrote of coming to know Jesus Christ, but you can hardly categorize that as a highlight. He is everything. And everything good in my life is given at His hand. I could tell you about the birth of my nieces and nephew. Every time I am with them I find it hard to imagine loving any children more. There have been many proud moments in my life - awards, graduations, accomplishments... There have been landmark times and turning points in my relationship with Christ. However, there is one highlight in particular I think it is necessary to share in light of the "saga" of the last three H's. The story seems unfinished. I want to tell of the time that I danced with my dad at my sister's wedding.
I consider that moment something of a miracle. Not because the event itself was anything out of the ordinary - people dance all the time... but because of what God did in both of our hearts over a long period of time to get us there.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I went to a huge outdoor concert for the 4th of July. As we were making our attempt to leave the parking lot, we had plenty of time to kill. The guy driving starts telling the girl in the front seat about this song and he plays it for her. It was a song written by the artist to his grandfather, who was an alcoholic. I've only heard the song once, but I still remember every word to the chorus:
I would say I wish I could have known you
And I would say I wish you would have stayed
But most of all I would say I forgive you
As I sat in the backseat of that car, I knew that God would have me say those same words to my dad. How could I, when I had been forgiven so much, withold that from my own father? I began to weep. Obedience would be a painful. That night, I wrote my dad a letter at least 10 pages long and told him everything from how I had been hurt to those 3 miraculous words, "I forgive you." I told him that I didn't want to waste the rest of the years we had on this earth being strangers to one another. I gave him all my contact information and left it at that.
3 months later, on my 19th birthday, I went to my dorm room and the phone rang. I literally had to sit down when I heard his voice on the other end of the phone. It was a short conversation, but it began the work of reconciliation between us. We began to get to know each other. We made attempts at phone calls and letters. When my sister got married several years later, he gave her away. At the reception, as he took my hand and led me onto the dance floor he said 3 miraculous words, "I'm so sorry." As we danced, as he held me (which he had not done in nearly 15 years), I was in complete awe of the work that God had done in both of our hearts.
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