Second Chances, Second Bests

Yesterday I watched Cinderella Man with Mao, a good friend from Iloilo. It was a very inspiring film about coming back, about being given a second chance. James J. Braddock was a boxing sensation during the American Depression era. He came back from almost nothing and won big because he capitalized on his belief that he could win and that "losers" never lose further.

The film made me realized some aspects of life that I have overlooked: about being given the second chance and about second bests. When we lose something or someone (often the very best that we have), we tend to think that anything else in our lives won't make it, would not be sufficient. A priced childhood toy takes on a value of a rare treasure. A really intimate friendship could mean the whole world to one person. Once these things get lost, broken or simply ceased to be, we can be shattered like glass. Each tiny shard throbs with pain. We suddenly feel incomplete, un-whole.

But the good thing is our God is also a God of second chances, of second bests. He allows the "firsts, the bests, the only-one's" in our lives to get lost, be broken, ceased to be so we may know their true worth. If they are authentic, then at least, we know. If they are not, still we know. But sometimes the "firsts, the bests, the only-one's" need to go so we may also learn to appreciate the second bests, the second chances, the second opportunities just waiting for us, right at our doorstep, if we are just willing to step out into the world.

We may realize that our second best friend is even better than our "best" friend. Our second shot at life, better than the first no matter how colorful or wonderful it may have been. I thank God, for giving me an experience of His great love and generosity for giving me the second bests in my life.