I made the mistake

Once upon a time I did not handle a situation very well. ⁣

I was speaking with a friend…

And the conversation got a little heated. ⁣

I thought that I was saying the right things in the moment.

But it threw a huge wedge between us. ⁣

Over the next couple of years, I matured a lot.

I discovered why the way I had reacted was completely inappropriate and actually not Christlike.

I vowed to improve my communication skills. ⁣

And I did!

It took a lot of work and effort.

But I totally changed and became so much better at kind and honest conversations, even when discussing difficult topics.

A few years later, I was speaking to that same friend. ⁣

The same topic came up that we had previously argued about.

But this time I handled it with maturity and finesse. ⁣

And then I mentioned:

“I’m so glad we can talk about this now, because I was so immature with how I responded the last time we had this conversation!”⁣

My friend’s response gutted me.

“Really? I didn’t know that you regretted how you talked to me last time. It hurt me, and I thought you still felt the same.”

I was so embarrassed.

My friend had no idea that I was thoroughly mortified for how I had acted before.

My friend had no idea that it had spurred literal years of self-development and sincere prayers.

Part of repentance means communicating with the people you have wronged. ⁣

Alma implored Corianton to, “. . . return unto them, and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done.” (Alma 39:13)

I let my friend hurt for much too long because they didn’t know I was trying to repent.

I could have saved them from some degree of suffering.

Of course, only the Savior can take away the true sting of sin.

But we need to do our part to ease the burden.

Return. Apologize. Acknowledge the fault.

And then improve.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black