All around us marriages are dissolving, friendships are falling apart, businesses are closing and ministries are ending. There are all kinds of reasons for such a society-wide moment of dysfunction. But I might suggest that at the core of it all, is a resistance to repent. No one wants to admit they are wrong.

I recently read an article by Ann Wilson who is the co-founder of Kensington Community Church, a national, multi-campus church and the author of Vertical Marriage: The One Secret that Will Change Your Marriage.

Her story, (in part) in her own words goes like this:

“We were in a bad place in our marriage and I didn’t know how to find my way back home. Before I knew it, ten years had passed and my husband wanted to make a big deal out of our anniversary.

He took me out to a very nice restaurant. They brought roses to our table. Later as we drove home, I realized that it was a sweet and grand gesture. But I responded, ‘I have lost my feeling for you.’ I knew my words killed him but I was at a point where I didn’t even know what else to say.

I don’t remember how long we sat there in silence as I waited for his reply, but instead Dave said the most bizarre thing, ‘Honey, I just have to do something first.’

A moment that should have been the beginning of the end for our marriage was instead the beginning of a new beginning. Instead of yelling at me like many of our conflicts, he began to pray. He somehow turned around in our Honda and put his knees on the floorboard. Then he began to pray out loud, repenting of being too busy and being lukewarm, begging God to help him become the husband and father he was supposed to be and not the hypocrite he had become.

Soon I turned around and got on my knees beside him.”

Apparently that event took place almost thirty years ago and as Ann tells it, “I can tell you that our moment of repentance changed everything.”

A moment of repentance can change the course of a partnership or a friendship. A moment of repentance can change the direction of a family or a church. A moment of repentance can alter the path of an individual’s whole life.

Pause a moment. Is there an issue that needs your attention? Is there a relationship that needs mending? Let’s not miss our moment of repentance.

“Repent then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)