The Apology

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

“Do you think Riley felt excluded?” Kelsey asked Hazel as they carried their trays to their lunch table.

Hazel nodded, feeling ashamed of the way she had acted. She and Kelsey are best friends and love to hang out together, especially when they are in a place where they don’t know very many people. Hazel had invited Kelsey to the neighborhood picnic held in her backyard, and they had chosen to hang out by themselves, chatting in the huge climbing tree in her front yard and later hiding in the lilac shrubs in the backyard, even though Riley, her newish neighbor and classmate, was there too. Hazel had noticed that Riley didn’t have anyone to hang out with, but that didn’t stop her from hiding away with Kelsey.

Hazel knew she owed Riley an apology, so she knocked on Riley’s door the next afternoon, and with sincerity and no excuses she told her how sorry she was for not including her. “Will you give me a second chance to be a better friend?” she asked. Riley accepted the apology, and both girls talked about how hard it can be to feel excluded.

“You should sit with Kelsey and me at lunch tomorrow!” Hazel said before she left.

Recognizing when we’ve been hurtful—even unintentionally—and being brave enough to say so is hard. That’s partly because it requires us to be humble and admit that we were wrong. But Jesus wants us to be girls who bring peace and a feeling of community to those around us, not exclusion and hurt feelings. When we exclude someone, the right thing to do is to say we’re sorry and make sure we do better the next time.

Things to Think About

• Ask an adult you love about a time she or he had to apologize. What did they do to make it right? How did their friend respond?
• Think about past apologies others have made to you—what parts worked? What parts felt insincere?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Do you need to say you’re sorry for pain you’ve caused? To seek forgiveness before God? Don’t let the sun set without acting.