Sometimes we don’t get to decide the path to better.

I had a conversation with a woman not long before she died. She knew she was sick. I think she even knew how sick she was. She wanted me to pray for her.

I asked her what to pray for. She said, “for a second chance.” Other people get a second chance, she said. She wanted me to ask for one for her, too. I said, “What would you do with a second chance?”

We had a good conversation. And it’s a question that I want to remember. Because all of us at one time or another want a second chance at...