A Middle School View

Two giggly tweens settled onto pillows in our small group nook, tucked away under the staircase in the church youth room.

“We missed you last week,” I noted with a smile. They turned a bit pink, and started to explain.

“We were on our way here, but then . . .” In short, the two best friends got the giggles. In the back seat of grandma’s car, the giggles—plus a drink of water—resulted in an unfortunate “tossing of the cookies.” The result covered both the “spewer” and her friend’s school backpack; only a shower and a washing machine could fix this mess.

Interestingly, our discussion that night centered on repentance. Young in years and in faith, I asked the girls what repentance meant. They offered the usual Sunday School type answers—“Repentance is admitting that we sinned and telling God we’re sorry.” Absolutely. Correct! But why? They looked at each other, a bit mystified, and shrugged.

“Let’s put it this way,” I began. Building on their already bright imaginations, we started talking about a different scenario. Perhaps Kate felt furious that Sarah spoiled her backpack; maybe she felt this instantly morphed into a wedge between them. Maybe it even caused a seemingly irreparable break in their relationship. How could two besties find a way back to the sweet friendship they enjoyed before?

As I laughed inside at God’s provision and concern that these girls “get it,” I found myself declaring, “So basically, repentance is saying, ‘God, I’m sorry I threw up on your backpack . . . can we be friends again?’”

Ladies, it’s just that simple.

 “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 If your relationship with God is blocked by an unconfessed, unrepented issue (sin) in your life—you can fix it, right now as you are sitting at your computer, reading this loveNOTE on your phone, or scrolling through your tablet. He’s not mad at you, the way Kate might have felt, but He does miss the relationship. He misses laughing with you over life’s unexpectedness. He misses hearing your sorrows; He misses you humbly asking Him for strength to just get through another minute of another day. Yes, He misses the relationship—He misses you!

Jesseca Newton
Writer