Practice Designing Amends
Think of one specific way you have hurt one specific person. Perhaps you lied to someone, or stole from them, or gossiped about someone behind their back and hurt their reputation with a third party.

Ask, How would I feel if I were that person? In what way have they been dam- aged? What could communicate to them that I have genuinely sought to understand their hurt and tried to set things right?

Imagine what the appropriate amends would be: to apologize, or to pay back the money with interest, or to let them know that you have returned to the third party to set the record straight. What might prevent you from making such amends? How do you think you would feel before doing so? Afterward?

CRAFT Your Relationships
As needed, practice the “C,” Conversation.
And “R,” Recall.
And “A,” Apology.
And “F,” Forgiveness.
And “T,” Talk.

Making amends is the process of repairing relationships. When apologizing, we should avoid using “apology lite” language that avoids taking responsibility or places the blame on someone or something else.

Dare to Be Guilty

This week, dare to be guilty.
Dare to believe that divine love and human guilt can coexist in the same

heart, even the same moment.
When you are aware of having done the wrong thing or said the wrong word

(or having not done the right thing), pause before looking for an excuse. Don’t resist. Don’t defend. Don’t collapse.

Ask God for new eyes—the ability to see the wrong we’ve done through the perspective of the one we’ve hurt.

Ask God for a new heart—the ability to feel the pain of the one we’ve wounded.