I used to be an ambitious young man with the world at my feet. I always saw myself running my own business, and for a while, I believed that I was on the right path. Looking back, I think this passion made my ex-wife, Rebecca, first fall in love with me. She even supported me during the humble beginnings of my old repair shop.<\/p>\n
Rebecca and I had our daughter, Harriet, during this time. Unfortunately, my repair shop went bankrupt. I began to feel depressed and lost motivation. I worked as a waiter to make ends meet, but I couldn’t provide a stable lifestyle for my family.<\/p>\n
“When are you going to get a real job?” Rebecca asked me. I had no answer. Even though I had a great relationship with Harriet during her childhood, my marriage slowly fell apart.<\/p>\n
Rebecca and I fought all the time, and we grew further apart. One day, I was called into the restaurant and told they could no longer keep me on the staff. “We’re going to have to let you go, Jimmy,” my manager told me.<\/p>\n
At the time, I was at such a low point in my life that I didn’t even care. Perhaps I thought Rebecca could care for me while I looked for a new job. That day I went home and took a walk with my family. Harriet was riding in her little car with foot pedals. Rebecca had a solemn demeanor, and I sensed something was wrong.<\/p>\n
“I’m leaving you, Jimmy. I just can’t do this anymore. It’s obvious that you’ve given up on everything,” She told me. In one day, my entire world had come crashing down. I tried to convince Rebecca to give me one more chance, but her mind had already been made up. I gave my daughter a big hug.<\/p>\n
“Mom always told me you were a loser and I should forget about you, but I can see that you’ve changed.”
\n“Daddy will always love you no matter, okay Harriet?” I told her. I could tell that she didn’t understand what was going on. By the following day, Rebecca and Harriet were out of the house, and I was all alone. Rebecca took full custody of our daughter as I was unemployed.<\/p>\n
It was only then that I realized how much of a loser I was. I couldn’t even take care of Harriet as I had no savings or job lined up. In what felt like a few months, Rebecca had already moved in with a new partner, Eric. “Until you get your life in order, don’t even think about talking to Harriet,” Rebecca told me.<\/p>\n
I used the last of my money to buy Harriet a gift for her birthday party, a small bunny rabbit. I also wrote a note which read, “I miss you so much. Happy Birthday. Love Daddy.”<\/p>\n
When I reached Eric’s house, I saw he was pretty rich. He had thrown a big birthday party for Harriet, with mascots and a jumping castle. I felt ashamed. My daughter had a new dad. Eric could provide Harriet with things I couldn’t even dream of buying.<\/p>\n
I left my gift at their front gate and left. At this point, I was in a very dark place and couldn’t see a way forward. I decided to leave the coast and move cities. All I had to my name was the house my father, Frank, left me.<\/p>\n
Since I was flat broke, I sold the house and moved into an apartment in a town in a different state.<\/p>\n
I worked odd jobs at times to make a bit of money. Two years after I left my family behind, I was broke again. The following month, I was evicted. I found myself out on the street with nowhere to turn.<\/p>\n
I can’t keep living like this, I realized. I walked into the local store and begged for a job. The manager recognized me from around town and gave me a chance as a cleaner in the store. In the next few months, I was promoted to cashier, and within a year, I was made administrator of the whole store.<\/p>\n
Even though I was finally financially stable and had cleaned up my act, I was still very lonely. Years flew by, and I still wasn’t in contact with any of my family, and I had no real friends. I regularly gave some of my money to charity because I had no one to spend it on.<\/p>\n
That all changed today, as for the first time in ages, I received mail that wasn’t an outstanding bill. It was a Christmas letter from Harriet!<\/p>\n
It has been 13 years since I’ve seen I have seen or heard from my daughter but I’ve been blessed with a Christmas miracle. Her words warmed my heart in a way that I haven’t felt in years. Her letter read:<\/p>\n
“Hi, Dad. I’ve finally found you! This may come as a shock, but I’ll be flying in to see you tomorrow. We have so much to talk about. Even though mom and Eric provided me with everything growing up, I always wondered when you would come back.<\/p>\n
Mom always told me you were a loser and I should forget about you, but I can see that you’ve changed and got yourself together. Just so you know, I still have the stuffed bunny you left me for my birthday. I named him Jimmy, so in a way, you’ve been with me all along!<\/p>\n
See you soon. I love you, and I can’t wait.<\/p>\n
Merry Christmas, Dad!”<\/p>\n
Although I felt too ashamed to return home, God has blessed me with a second chance with Harriet. This time, I’ll do everything I can to make her proud and make up for all the time we missed together. After 13 long years, I finally have my shot at redemption.<\/p>\n
Have you ever had a moment when you needed to start life with a clean slate? How did you survive it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I used to be an ambitious young man with the world at my feet. I always saw myself running my own business, and for a while, I believed that I was on the right path. Looking back, I think this passion made my ex-wife, Rebecca, first fall in love with me. She even supported me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n