Date 13 - Second Chance
The Scene: A Sunday morning walk through Piedmont Park.
The Attire: Black jeans, black tank, black heels, floor-length flowing kimono (recently purchased from my journey to Tokyo, Japan)
The Meeting: Listening to the direction of God, I drive myself straight from church to Piedmont Park to meet Second Chance.
The Environment: Sunny, breezy, and easy Sunday morning
While at church listening to a sermon entitled “Changed Forever” and talking about the power of forgiveness, I get a text (don’t judge me because yes, I looked at the text during church) from Second Chance. I immediately rolled my eyes but read it anyway. It said, “I would love to go for a walk through Piedmont Park with you.” I contemplated it and traveled through these not-so-nice scenarios in my mind:
Throw the request against a visible wall and watch it shatter;
Run the request over with my car and watch it shatter;
Roll my eyes at the request and watch it shatter (even though this action may not be physically possible).
After getting it out of my system, I attuned my heart to the spiritual message directly before me and allowed myself to go a different direction. Before I knew it, my fingers said yes. I swallowed my pride and physically removed my phone so that I could be laser-focused on the purpose of the message.
You may be wondering, Cherrod, why are you so mean? What did this man do to you?
Well, Sherlock, so glad you asked.
This man, months before, stood me up.
Yes, stood ME up!
He left me at Sperica, awaiting his arrival to which he never showed. Afterward, he called me an hour later, like we didn’t have a planned date.
At that time, I didn’t have words, as my mother always said, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I chose to exercise that right. I spoke with him days later and thought, everything you are saying leaves a lot to be desired, and that includes you. So, I made a choice to close the door. It has been almost 10 months, and our paths converged due to a mechanical breakdown. He still had my number (from months prior), and he made the decision to reach out consistently to check on me, and I, to be truthful, ignored most of those attempts.
Fast forward to Sunday, it was perfect timing that he would reach out when I was learning a spiritual lesson delivered to uplift, elevate, and educate me.
I walked out of the church, glided into my car, and arrived at Piedmont Park armored. So I asked God to smooth my edge and open my heart. That was accomplished. Second Chance met me where I stood, and we immediately began conversing, sharing, and connecting. He asked a great deal about me with a genuine curiosity and was open to my questions. We bid one another farewell at my car, he hugged me like he meant it, and I headed to my next destination.
Note to Self: Always attune your heart to God, you can never go wrong.
Shout Out to Men: Admit when you are wrong, it will go far.
Question: Why do second chances always travel through such a heavy journey?
