I will correct you properly

I didn't mention what the name of the ER episode was from whence came yesterday's clip, but the episode title was fittingly "Atonement". Been thinking a lot about that word, actually. On Saturday, my mother visited an acquaintance she hadn't seen in over a decade. Leading up to the visit, there seemed to be a lot of urgency in her to visit this person, despite her not being more than a simple acquaintance. The wondrous one accompanied my mother on this visit and told me about some of the first words out of my mother's mouth.

Turns out that a dozen years earlier, they had gotten together for a visit, and then this acquaintance invited my parents to another get-together to meet some friends. My father wrote down the address and placed it into his shirt pocket -- which became a mangled, unintelligible mess after it was put through the wash. My parents ended up not going to this get-together.

Flash back forward. My mother's first words to this person was an apology for missing this get-together from beyond a decade earlier. Considering I am very much my mother in temperament and guilt-ridden OCD genes, I don't have to imagine long that some monstrous level of guilt had been inside her for lo these many years. No wonder the urgency to get this meeting over as quickly as possible (this lady turned 90 this year, so extra urgency).

It's very human -- we all have situations of remorse and guilt and regret that we carry with us. Many of us go to great lengths to rectify these situations. Heck, it's step #8 for AA. Even a popular show operates on this premise. So why would anyone think that they wouldn't need atonement on a spiritual level? You might be settling these debts on earth, but why can't you see that need beyond these physical constraints? There are eternal issues that don't get dealt with no matter how many sorrys you end up uttering. All this to remind you, you need a Savior.