How Can I Forgive Others--and WHY Should I?
This is a sore spot in my life. Seems like a lot of people have hurt me but I wonder how much of that I have caused to happen? I attended a wedding yesterday in St. Charles, Missouri and even though I was "working" there, I had an opportunity to hear the words of the minister when he spoke of the most important thing in a marriage is not love or being friends, it is forgiveness. Yes, believe it or not, forgiving he says will allow that love to flourish and grow naturally.
Embarrassing as it was, I shed tears over my viola as I could relate to so much of this process. When I forgive my husband for his unkind, sometimes hateful words, I feel washed from chains of hate and learn how this frees me as well. Allowing someone the right to be forgiven helps me understand how great I am at keeping a grudge. It's hard to let it go!
What was also touching was the request of the people to the wedding to help the couple in this process. I remember that this is asked in traditional church weddings but I recall it was so automatic it never struck me as really meaning anything. In an outdoor, small wedding, I could hear the answers yes, the clicking of saliva in the smiling lips during the audible "yes" from older people and see the hands being held.
We are all part of keeping forgiveness alive. We all have a way to make someone's life together through our own adoption of forgiveness to them and others. We model that behaviour in everyday activities and challenges.
Reminder of the day: Forgiving others in little things helps me to practice forgiveness in the really big things.
My sister Valerie sent me a link for a blog I have been searching for and in that process, I found this WONDERFUL site full of excellent articles for almost anything that may interest a person. Thank you, Valerie.
Click here if you want to view a small page on forgiveness but do explore the other pages it has to offer!
1 comment:
Forgiveness... So easy to say, so incredibly hard to do. And yet, every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are asking forgiveness in the same manner that we are forgiving to others. The Prayer says Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. (emphasis mine) That "as" means "exactly like". So when we don't forgive, we are not forgiven. When we "kinda forgive" we are forgiven, but not really too. But when we wholly choose to forgive, the trespass is cancelled. And so is ours.
But, you say, someone hurt you incredibly. Yes, I'm sure they did. We can not judge someone by one standard and then judge ourselves by our own intentions. We hurt people. People hurt us. That's the problem with a fallen world. If we want to bring Heaven to earth, we have to be that heaven on earth, in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.
Forgiveness is indeed incredibly hard, but it is also freedom from bondage when we do. Not only bondage to our own debts, but from the bondage we keep ourselves in because of our anger and hurt feelings.
Post a Comment