This morning, my computer was not working properly.  It’s old so I’m patient with it, but the screen saver was suddenly different, and all of my emails had disappeared.  I remembered that our son had showed me how to create a “restore point,” a technique to restore settings on a computer to a prior time.  So I did that, and my screen saver was restored to the current version — and the emails reappeared!

I sometimes wish for a “restore point” in my personal life.  Relationships that once were good can go sour with a single negative encounter that leads to bitterness, resentment, and division.  I long to go back to when that relationship was positive and good and satisfying.

God does that for us.  Through his death and resurrection, Christ reconciled us, bringing us into communion with God.  When I foul things up with a negative word or act or thought, ugliness builds like a darkening sky on a stormy day.  But God’s grace is always there, able to restore my spirit to a place of peace and hope and love.  I can choose to confess my wrongdoing to the other person and to God, then ask for forgiveness and for God’s help to see the good in the person I am at odds with.  Often for me, this is a daily process to restore communion with others and with God.  Thanks to God’s grace, I can choose to be restored.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to keep our hearts pure and clean toward you and toward others.  Amen.