Second Chance

I'll bet you can name five or six of them right now without even thinking. Celebrities, politicians or athletes who have been caught in some sort of scandal and denied it or blamed someone else. You probably even know some people personally who have done this. Heck, you may have even done this...I know I have.

I have to tell you that, even before his dog-fighting scandal, I have never been a huge Michael Vick fan. However, after this past weekend my opinion of him is rising.

I didn't see his interview on 60 Minutes last night but I did record it and plan on watching it soon. I did catch part of his press conference on Friday in which he was introduced as a new member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

I was impressed. Contrary to most people in the spotlight these days, I saw a guy who appeared to be genuinely sorry for his actions. I saw someone who humbly is accepting responsibility for his actions, is asking for forgiveness and is very grateful for a second chance.

Though there are still those who will not forgive him and are protesting his re admittance into the NFL, it's amazing what an attitude like that does to help public opinion. Imagine what that could do for you when you make a mistake.

When we make a mistake, we can learn from this and do the following things:
1. Admit it and accept responsibility.
2. Apologize to God and to those who were hurt and ask for forgiveness.*
3. Decide to repent and walk away from this action in the future.

*God will forgive us, but if the offended party doesn't forgive us, that is their issue. If we do these things, we are set free.

Second Chance

Lucas Wells is a friend of my oldest daughter, Kristin. He was a classmate of hers and he is extremely talented. He was a good athlete while in school and he also was amazing in the school musicals.

Last spring he was asked to join 100 other hopefuls to audition for a spot in the Broadway production Spring Awakening, a rock musical that won eight 2007 Tony Awards, including best musical.

In a recent Toledo Blade article, Wells told of his audition experience:

Invited to the final audition on Monday, Wells was excited and intimidated, because it was with the show’s composer, Duncan Sheik, and lyricist, Steven Sater.“I had idolized Duncan Sheik for so long, because he’s so good, and I tried not psyching myself out before I went in there,” Wells said.

It didn’t work. The staff could tell Wells was nervous, and after he performed, they sent him off for a few hours to relax, then invited him back to try again.

The breather worked, and Wells earned praise from all involved.

But he began to wonder what was really going to happen. Then his phone rang, and Wells was offered a part in the tour as a “swing,” which is a member of the ensemble, and an understudy to the two male lead roles, Melchior and Moritz. Wells said he was stunned. He had no idea they were considering him to play Moritz.

So now Lucas is on Broadway. Very cool stuff!

However, the thing I really am encouraged by is the fact that the staff gave Lucas a second chance at his final audition. They obviously saw talent and they gave him the benefit of the doubt...something most of us can do more of.