4 April | Youth
«I will arise and go to my father.» Luke 15:18
Faced with certain situations, we do not know where to go or to whom to turn. Sometimes we do not even have a place to go back to. It was like that with Dione. When he left where he lived, he thought he was going to do well, but that was not the case. They had promised him a lot of money to transport drugs. Even though it was risky, he accepted it. As a result, he was arrested and had to serve time in a penitentiary in the middle of nowhere, far from home.
In prison, the days seemed endless. Regret and remorse tormented him. He wanted to be free again. However, as the date for his release approached, he felt that it might not be worth returning. Go back where? Back to what? Back to whom? His parents had abandoned him when he was little. The aunt who had raised him had passed away. The other family members, few and far, were in no position to help him start over. Dione understood that he would have to move on in life without anyone else's help.
The feeling of guilt and abandonment is a terrible thing. That is how the lost son, in the parable Jesus told, felt. In this story, everything happened because of a decision motivated by exaggerated ambition and the desire to live wildly. The son's dreams of greatness did not come true. He spent it all. He lost his dignity and almost his life! However, he had the courage to try to untie the knot he had tied. He came to his senses, admitted his mistake, went back and asked for forgiveness. And what then? A real father would not fail to welcome back his beloved son who had just shown that he had learned his lesson, right? The young man in the parable had something to return to. Not Dione. He decided to start over where they left him when he was released. He decided to “bloom where he was planted.” He felt repentant and transformed, and therefore had a promising future.
If only we always had a place to return to! If only there was always someone waiting for us at the end of the day, with eagerness and love! It is not always the case, unfortunately.
Therefore, when we look around on this Earth and find no way out, it is worth remembering that our true home is the Father's house. When everyone fails, God will not fail: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Ps 27:10). I believe! How about you?