From Bully to Brave
Nehemiah 9:17 — You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.
I’ve never been to a high school reunion. Not once. Not even close.
My high school is in Washington State, outside Seattle, but I moved away after college. Every reunion somehow landed just out of reach. I’d be home visiting my parents weeks before or after—but never on time.
So I don’t have reunion stories of my own. But I’ve always liked the idea of revisiting where we’ve come from.
I came across a story online from a man who did attend his twentieth reunion. He didn’t romanticize it.
“In high school, I was a bully,” he admitted. “I was cruel. Mean. Hard to like.” Then he added the hardest truth—he didn’t like himself either. His home life was painful, so he hurt others so he wouldn’t feel hurt alone.
When the invitation came, he was nervous. He decided to go with one purpose: to apologize. “You’ll never address what you don’t confess,” he told himself. He knew forgiveness wasn’t guaranteed. Some people might not want to see him, and some wounds couldn’t be undone. He barely slept the night before he went.
When he arrived at the school auditorium, he sought out the people he knew he had unfinished business with. One by one, he owned what he had done—no excuses, no explanations. Just apologies.
To his surprise, most of them forgave him. Some barely remembered the details. Others remembered clearly—and still chose grace.
They told him how much his apology meant. How glad they were that he came. By the end of the night, the regret and shame that had followed him for years began to lift—not because the past had changed, but because mercy met him there.
That story reminded me of how God deals with us.
In Nehemiah, the prophet looks back over Israel’s long history of rebellion and failure and declares this truth about God:
“You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.” (Nehemiah 9:17)
A forgiving God. Patient. Compassionate. Overflowing with love. A God who does not walk away—even when we give Him every reason to.
What those classmates offered in a crowded auditorium—God has offered us all along. Not denial. Grace. Not pretending the damage never happened, but forgiveness that restores. Mercy doesn’t erase the past, but it does free the one who receives it.
We carry our mistakes and regrets quietly, assuming it’s too late or that we’re stuck. But God doesn’t wait decades to respond. He meets honesty and repentance with mercy—every time.
So maybe today isn’t about revisiting the past. Maybe it’s about releasing it. Letting grace meet the parts of your story you’ve been running from. Freedom begins there, shaping how you live, how you love, and how you extend that same mercy to others.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Is there a part of your past you’ve been carrying with shame instead of surrendering to God’s mercy?
- What does Nehemiah 9:17 reveal about God’s posture toward you when you fall short?
- Is there an apology God may be inviting you to offer—or a forgiveness He’s inviting you to receive?
- How might releasing the past change the way you live and love today?
