As I alluded to in my last post, my brother was married over the weekend. We went to Oakland, California for the wedding. It was a beautiful event. I can't imagine it being much better. The weather was fantastic, everyone who planned on coming made it on time, and Eric and Kara are so happy together. My brother asked me to be his best man about two months ago, which was an honor for me. I helped organize his bachelor party, created a slideshow of him and Kara, and led the effort to decorate their get away vehicle.
I was particularly proud of our decorations on the car. It turned out better than I had expected. Kara's dad let them take his nice sedan, and he was justified in his worry about how we were going to decorate his car. His only rule was "nothing on the paint," which he repeated on a few occasions. We went to work and filled the back seat with balloons, tied crepe-paper streamers, and wrote on the windows using window paint. After we finished, I pulled the car up to the front and when I got out I noticed that the streamers had spread the wet paint from the windows to the top of the car. I had broken the only rule! With haste I ran to the bathroom, wet a few paper towels, and ran back to the car. It was a huge relief to me that the window paint came off easily and my brother and his new wife enjoyed the decorations as they drove off into the night.
On occasion, even when we are being careful, we will make mistakes, breach rules, or spill paint all over. When that happens, it is incomprehensible to think that we would just weep and wallow. Such moments require action--and when it comes to making mistakes in our lives, that action is called repentance. Repentance is accomplished by righting wrong and seeking forgiveness from God and cleansing through the atonement of Jesus Christ. From my own experience, I know these things are not abstract illusions, but sure realities. Mistakes made may be forgiven, but when left alone, they harden.
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