Life has a way of shifting our perspective, especially as we get older and the years start to slip by. We are reminded that our time here is short, and that “above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

​For a long time, I let old complications, misunderstandings, and the bitterness of past circumstances dictate a relationship in my family. In an effort to just keep the peace at the time, I chose to step away from communicating with a family member entirely. We hadn’t spoken in years.

It’s so easy to let the weight of outside opinions, old insecurities, or past conflicts build a wall that feels too high to climb over.

​But as the years pass, life changes. The things that once seemed so massive have a way of fading into the background, yet the walls we built can remain standing if we let them.

​Recently, I learned that this family member was facing a severe, life-altering illness. Along with the heartbreak of that news came a heavy wave of guilt for all the time lost. The reasons for the silence didn’t even seem to matter anymore, but the silence itself felt deafening.

​I felt a strong, undeniable conviction to reach out.

​In moments like that, two voices fight for our attention. Condemnation whispers that it’s too late, that too much damage has been done, and that we should just stay hidden in the mud of our regrets. But we have to remember the truth of God’s promise:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Condemnation wants to paralyze us, but God’s conviction gently points us toward healing, forgiveness, and restoration.

​To walk through that door of restoration, I had to drop the heavy bags I had been holding onto. I had to follow the command to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger… along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

​Sometimes, the bitterness we carry isn’t even our own—it’s a weight we absorb from a situation or from those around us just to keep the peace. But it harms our quality of life as a whole, first infecting the soul and then leaching into the body.
​I am so incredibly grateful that I chose to listen to the conviction and drop the weight. I reached out.

​If there is someone God is putting on your heart today, please don’t let past bitterness keep you from reaching out. Step out in faith, even if you are afraid of how it will be received.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

​Listen to the voice that calls you to heal, not the one that tells you to hide. God will never steer you wrong.