Jenna wrapped her hands around her mug of hot chocolate and breathed in the sweet aroma, relaxing for the first time all week. “Thanks, Grandma. This is exactly what I needed.”

Grandma’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’m sure the hot chocolate can’t cure all your problems, but it certainly helps.”

Jenna frowned. “I wish it could. But nothing can.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Shame welled up inside Jenna. The last thing she wanted was for her grandmother to know what she’d done. But she needed advice. “I’ve made some bad choices lately. I don’t want you to be ashamed of me, but I need help.”

“Oh, sweet child, I could never be ashamed of you. I’d be honored to help you, but I don’t want you to feel pressured to tell me things you don’t want me to know.”

Jenna weighed her options in her mind. Grandma always had her back. Always took the time to listen, and gave good advice. It was worth swallowing her pride. “No, I want to tell you. I need to make things right.”

“Well, then I’m all ears.” Grandma settled back in her chair and set her mug on the end table. She folded her hands in her lap and fixed her gaze on Jenna.

Jenna swallowed hard. “There’s this guy at school. His name is Colin. He’s really popular, and a lot of the girls like him.”

Grandma raised her eyebrows. “Including you?”

Jenna’s cheeks flushed hot. “Yeah. Including me. And Ivy.”

“Your best friend.”

Jenna swallowed hard. “She used to be my best friend.”

A line formed between Grandma’s eyebrows. “Oh, dear. What happened?”

Jenna set down the mug. Her stomach turned as she considered her next words. “Colin was struggling with Spanish, and I figured out the best way to get him to notice me was to help him with it. The problem was, he already asked Ivy to help him.” She swallowed hard. “I told him Ivy couldn’t really help him because I let her copy my homework and cheat off me on the tests.”

Grandma raised her eyebrows. “You lied to him?”

Jenna couldn’t meet her eyes. “I did. But I didn’t think it was a big deal, and I didn’t think Ivy would find out. But word got out, and the teacher found out and is now failing her. Ivy won’t speak to me, and I don’t know what to do.”

Grandma pressed her lips together. “Child, I don’t believe that’s true. You know exactly what to do.”

“But if I tell the truth, Colin won’t want me to help him anymore. He won’t like me.”

“How long have you known this boy?”

“Just since the beginning of the school year.”

“So, about two months.” Grandma shook her head. “And how long have you and Ivy been friends?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“You would let your best friend fail a class because of your lies just so you can tutor a boy you’ve known for two months.”

Jenna slumped back against the chair. “It sounds awful when you put it like that.”

“It is awful.”

Jenna’s stomach twisted. Even Grandma was against her. She’d lost Ivy, and Grandma now thought she was a terrible person.

“Has Colin even asked you out yet?”

“No, but…”

“But nothing. How many times have you tutored him?”

“Every day after school for the last two weeks.”

“Is he paying you?”

Jenna shook her head. “No, I volunteered to help him so he’d spend time with me.”

“You’ve given up your free time to tutor a boy who isn’t interested in you. Doesn’t sound worth it to me.”

“You don’t think he’ll ever ask me out?”

Grandma’s thin brows drew together. “I can’t say for sure one way or the other, but Jenna, your integrity isn’t worth the price. What kind of relationship could you have, anyway, since it was built on a lie? You’d always be afraid he’d find out. And poor Ivy. This could ruin her chance of getting into a good college.”

Jenna couldn’t hold back the tears. “You’re right, Grandma. I know you’re right. I’ll tell our Spanish teacher first thing tomorrow that I lied about the whole thing.”

“That’s a good first step. What else?”

“I’ll apologize to Ivy.”

“And?”

Jenna studied her grandmother. “What else?”’

“You’ll tell Colin the truth.”

“And I’ll stop tutoring him.”

“No, I think you should keep tutoring him if he wants you to. There’s no reason for the boy to do poorly just because you made a bad choice. But there’s one more thing you need to do.”

Jenna’s eyes grew wide. “What else?”

Grandma scooted her chair closer to Jenna and reached for her hand. “You need to confess your lies to the people you hurt, but you also have to confess them to God. You’ll need to ask forgiveness from Ivy, Colin, and your teacher, but also from God.”

“God doesn’t want to hear from me.”

Grandma reached out a finger and used it to lift Jenna’s chin. “He most certainly does. No matter what wrong choices you’ve made, He will always love you.”

“I don’t deserve it.”

“Of course, you don’t.”

Jenna blinked in surprise. She knew it was true, but she didn’t expect Grandma to agree with her. Grandma chuckled. “None of us deserve God’s love and forgiveness but He freely offers it anyway. I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same treatment from Ivy, but you have to try.”

Jenna pushed herself up from her chair and threw her arms around Grandma. “You’re right, as always. Thank you. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll tell the truth to my teacher, to Colin, and to anyone else who will listen. Ivy might not forgive me, but I’ll give her my best apology. Colin isn’t worth losing my integrity or my best friend over, no matter how cute he is.”

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

God, no matter what we’ve done or how unworthy we feel, You tell us we can approach You with confidence. Thank you for extending forgiveness and for wanting to hear from us. There is such comfort in knowing we’re always welcome in your presence. You tell us in Your word “while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” What an amazing blessing! Thank You for Your unfailing love for us. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.