The Deadline

A few weeks ago I called a friend. And he apologized and asked my forgiveness. I was not even sure why, so let me explain. We had been talking a few months earlier and when we finished, he said he would call me in a couple of days so we could finish our conversation. When I did not receive the call, I just figured something had come up. Since the need did not seem pressing, I did not push it and held no malice or ill thoughts. Then I had to call him about another unrelated matter. When he heard my voice, he was glad I called. He confessed that he knew he missed "The Deadline" to call me, and then felt guilty and did not know how to respond. He said that as he thought about it, he just felt worse and worse and then was unable to make the call out of fear, or because he felt so bad. I was blown away. Here was a guy I have admired for years, in a position I could not imagine, asking me to forgive him. For missing a phone call! I think I said don't worry about it, about all I could do at that moment because to me , it was no big deal. But it obviously weighed heavily on him. I did not think a lot about that until now. Now I am wearing that same shoe and it does not feel good. I told another friend, Gary, a couple of weeks ago that I would call him the next day. And I never did. I too missed "The Deadline." And after a few days I began to feel horrible about it, but too ashamed to make the call. Confessing to screwing up is never easy. Sometimes I think it easier to do so with God than to a friend. Now those few days have stretched into weeks. Gary, I am sorry I did not call you when I said I would. I either forgot or got busy and then after a few days, felt so bad I did not know what to say when I called. But that is no excuse. Please forgive me. I will call you Monday morning so we can talk. dave