Love Mends

“Todo en esta vida tiene solución menos la muerte,” my mom often tells me.  “Everything in life has a solution except death,” has been her life philosophy.  Over the years those words have repeatedly made their way into her encouraging pep-talks.  When I scraped my knees, when I lost a ball game, when I failed a test, when my heart was broken, she smiled, hugged me and said, “todo en esta vida tiene solución menos la muerte.”  As a child her comforting smile and hug were enough to motivate me high enough to dream again, but as I got older her words began to be just as important.  Once I asked her what she meant by always repeating that phrase and she looked me in the eye and with the most radiant smile she said, “There’s no mistake big enough, or trouble so great that you can’t make amends - as long as you have life in your body anything can be fixed. Nothing is ever final only death.”  After a lifetime of being nurtured by those words I have come to believe in their truth, but as I grow older they get redefined and gain more meaning.  To accept that everything in life has a solution requires two very difficult qualities humility and action.  Humility in accepting our fault in the matter and in seeking a way to correct that wrong- then taking the action needed to repair the damage.  Sometimes our mistakes require perseverance to just not let failure dominate.   Other times they require practice as a way to mature our weaknesses into strengths.  The most difficult solutions for many are usually when we must repair a hurt we inflicted on another because we have to swallow our pride and apologize.

Apologies are important in all relationships.  When I taught preschool and two of the children had a disagreement after we got to the root of the problem I would make the two little ones apologize to each other and hug it out.  The need for the verbal, “I am sorry” is important, but so is the sincere actions that follow that statement.  When my kids would hug they usually would separate from the embrace with a smile and would go on to play together.  Peace in their friendship had been restored.  As Christians we believe in the importance of forgiveness and we are told to forgive even if we don’t receive an apology.  When we are able to forgive in this manner we gain a lot of inner peace.  Yet, as Christians we are also told to go and make peace with our brother before we come to the altar of the Lord.  Thus, if the opportunity allows a moment must be made to allow two people to make amends.  Strong relationships mature and survive when people are compassionate and have the humility to seek forgiveness. Sometimes we make things bigger in our minds and repairing them seems too big, complicated and impossible, but "todo en esta vida tiene solución menos la muerte."  Nothing is ever too big especially if we add God to the mix.  In order to salvage friendships we need a constant ounce of humility and the will to make things right - with God's help we are invincible!  

I need to know that I wasn't being ignored through tangible proof.