My hubby and I always try to make it to Sunday school early, but somehow time usually sneaks up on us. Our class is small, but we love having an opportunity to share life with them. Some of the members of the class are long time friends, and others we are just getting to know. Today we finished a little early and made our way into the sanctuary with time to spare.

Mike and I relaxed into our seats, and I began chatting with the sweet lady I always sit next to. She has children close to my age, but she always looks lovely. Her beauty is ageless and comes from taking care of herself, but also from the gentle loving spirit that I evidence each Sunday morning as we share whatever comes to mind.

This Sunday, our visit was short lived.

“Dear, we signed up to sing in the senior choir this Sunday. I totally forgot, but we better find a seat.”

At first, singing in the choir felt pretty awkward; it just seemed unnatural to be looking out at the congregation. But after a time or two we decided it was not too bad, and we only have a senior choir once in a while. Although Mike and I are only OK singers, we can make a joyful noise with the best of them!

Soon, it was time for the sermon, and we sat back to listen. Not surprisingly, our pastor had prepared a Father’s Day message. But he brought out some points in the parable of the prodigal son that I had never thought of before. It is always interesting to me that hundreds of people can hear the same words, but each have a different take away.

Even though the story is about fathers and sons, I could relate to it. I have been thrown a few curveballs in life, and haven’t always responded as well as I should have. When my late husband died I made some choices in my grief and loneliness that I now regret, but what is the old saying? Hindsight is 20/20.

My pastor spoke about each player in the story of the prodigal son and pointed out that each of them made mistakes. One son had made many foolish mistakes, while another was filled with an unforgiving spirit and a prideful, judgmental attitude. But the father seemed to be a little partial to the youngest son and planned a big party for him, without even calling the eldest to come in from work and join them.

His final point was simply that we all make mistakes even when we have the best intentions, but we can start anew each day and keep pushing forward. Was this an earth shattering revelation to anyone? Probably not, but it’s always good to be reminded that we have a heavenly Father who makes no mistakes and is always waiting to help us recover when we do.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.