This is the sixth of 25 special reflections based on lessons I learned from my mother. These will run from my birthday on October 27 until her birthday on November 20.
Read
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
Reflect
Mom’s life didn’t always go according to plan. In fact, there was one chapter that brought her deep, deep sadness. Mom and Dad were married in 1960, but they had some big differences throughout their marriage. In 1973, those differences became too great, and they agreed to divorce. It wasn’t a decision she ever regretted, especially because she ended up marrying my stepfather, and the two of them had a storybook marriage and life together. But whenever I talked with Mom about her divorce, I could sense a definite sadness. I think she mourned the marriage she’d hoped to have, even though she knew it was time to begin again.
After the divorce, Mom made a pretty big decision that would change her life – and ours, too. She felt that she needed a fresh start, and so she packed up a station wagon and a U-Haul trailer, and she moved herself, her two boys and her schnauzer to live with her parents in Carthage, Texas. Now that I’m grown, I can see how difficult that had to be for her – to leave her home and friends in Florida to move back to the home she’d lived in when she was a child. Thankfully, my grandparents were willing to open their home and their lives to us so that she could have a fresh start.
We serve a God of the fresh start. Throughout the Bible, God gives His people opportunities to begin again. The biggest example of that is salvation – the opportunity to leave our sins behind and have a new life in Jesus Christ. Through His grace, we can receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God, not because we’ve earned a second chance, but because of what Christ has done for us. And He commands us to extend that same grace and forgiveness to others when they’ve offended or sinned against us, even when rebuilding trust takes time. That’s the promise we find in Lamentations: God’s mercies never come to an end. Even when yesterday has brought disappointment and sorrow, His faithfulness gives us hope for tomorrow.
If your life has gone in a direction that’s different than where you thought it would go, don’t be afraid to start over. There’s no shame in having to hit the reset button, even if others might not completely understand what you’re doing. It’s enough to know that the Lord understands. Starting over doesn’t mean the disappointments of the past never happened, or that we won’t carry some of their sadness with us. It means trusting that God’s mercies are new every morning, and that yesterday’s disappointments don’t have to determine what tomorrow will bring.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
