Now I know that I couldn't really change until I found someone who would love me whether I changed or not. The message of Jesus, the amazing message of grace, the scandalous message that gripped Peter who denied and Paul who persecuted, is that we are loved just as we are, whether we change or not. Love is there, ready to meet us, taking us through Good Friday, bringing us to Easter, where Jesus appears, and where there's the possibility of new life. People change when they let that love sink in. We see it all the time around here.
People change when welcomed, accepted as they are, even with irreverent questions.
Paul seemed sure he was on the right track, chasing down any Christian he could find. He discovered in that flash of light that he was totally, sincerely, energetically moving in the wrong direction. So he pulled a U-turn. Peter was sure he had let Jesus down. I read his decision to go back to fishing as a sign that he knew what it meant to fail.