2012: The Year of Reconciliation

Did I hear Him right? Or was that just me talking?

The Year of Reconciliation

Rule of thumb is when you think you've heard a word from the Lord, you wait and see. If it happens, it was Him. If it doesn't, it was indigestion.

Now some of you are reacting like I did in the last post when the girl started talking about her third eye. This is weird!  And well it may be if one didn't believe in a personal, living God who interacts in the present with his children.

Compelled by a strong sense I prayed about the new year, last year early in January 2012. (See Pray, Pray, Pray Jan 2012 post).

And I thought I heard:

The Year of Reconciliation

Wishful thinking, I doubted again. What is this some kind of Chinese mimic impersonating as  the small voice of God?  The year of the snake. The year of the monkey, my mind mocked. 2012 will be the year of Reconciliation again was impressed on my heart in inaudible words. 

OK. That sounds good to me! Let her roll!

There were too many broken friendships. A family rift that brought waves of profound sadness and left a deep ache in their wake. Cards sent, but not acknowledged. Phone calls unreturned. Missing birthdays, milestones and sharing daily life. Absent dinner partners. No close friends to call for spontaneous nights out.

Sweet friends, deeply loved relatives, relationships that had been soured by money mishaps, hurtful words. Even death had ripped through a segment of relatives, 7 years long. All these waiting, begging, praying to be reconciled and restored.

Could it be possible that God was going to answer all these in one year?

So the days, weeks and months went on. I fasted and prayed periodically for these people. Fasted and prayed, fasted and prayed. God could do it on His own, but wants us to be a part of it, learning deep truths about Him in the process, never discovered had we not prayed. Prompted by Him, enabled by Him, we find prayer is the catalyst.

One Sunday we returned home from church to find the start of the first reconciliation sitting in our kitchen. A friend of our boys stayed all afternoon and apologized for well meaning actions that had caused conflict in our household. Tears and embraces later we were on our way to healing.

Next, the second came in the form of repaid debt. Wow, now I can look these people in the eyes when I run into them.

Then there was a letter declaring love to a 7 year-long estranged family member. She called the next day. This was HUGE for us all. Finally that letter was written that broke the silence, followed by a waterfall of happy crying, conversation, and catching up.

And lots and lots of long-overdue laughter. This family member was the Queen of Laughter and boy, had I missed it - and her - back again from 7 years of famine. We now feast on the release of reconciliation.

Finally, the unexpected one, well, they all were unexpected.  I didn't have the face-to-face meeting of my 3-decade long adopted daughter on my list of reconciliations. I talked regularly to her. After an attempt to lunch with her that was followed by 3 years of silence, I wasn't ever going to suggest meeting again. But when she said, "Why don't we meet up?" before an October 2012  visit to California, I was once again bowled over by God's long list of relational restorations He was blessing our year with.

Only He can do this. Only he can humble a heart to ask forgiveness when one wants to defend their position, stand their ground. Only He can soften a person to declare love from an open heart, when pride wants to close it tight.

Only God can do that. 

What freedom and joy and richness in the renewed relationships!

Truly blessed because of Him this 2012, the Year of Reconciliation.

What will 2013 bring?

I have an idea and I'm praying about it.....