A friend of mine told me about a guy named Troy who had moved to Hawaii from Florida years ago. Before he got there, Troy was — by any reasonable measure — heading nowhere good. Purple mohawk, extreme attitude, hard living in every direction. Nobody gave him much of a chance.

But not long after arriving on the North Shore, Troy got involved in a church. Something shifted. My friend said it wasn't that Troy lost his edge exactly — he was still pretty extreme, still pretty wild at heart. But something in him had changed direction. He went from the guy people thought would end up in prison to visiting people in prison. From doing drugs to counseling people with addictions. He channeled everything he was into surfing big waves and building a ministry. He is now a pastor, respected by everyone who knows him.

I was telling my friend this reminded me of Jonah — the runaway prophet who got a second chance he hadn't earned. My friend replied, "Yeah. That's called grace."

That's called grace. Simple as that.

Most of us don't have a story as dramatic as Troy's. But most of us know what it is to be carried through something we weren't sure we'd survive. To be given another chance we didn't entirely deserve. To find ourselves on the other side of a hard season, still here, still standing.

The question worth some reflection is the same one Jonah faced: what do we do with this second chance?

Prayer: We thank you, O God, for the second chances we have been given — the ones we recognized and the ones we didn't. You are a God of grace and new beginnings. May what we have received move us to live more generously, more faithfully, more fully. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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