Giving Day 5
Idea 7
Forgive before they ask for it
Idea 7
Forgive before they ask for it
Well, I must admit, when we first read through this book I didn't really think I would have a need to be challenged to give this gift. Sure, there are people you forgive, probably on a daily basis, but as far as the hard to forgive issues, I didn't think it would happen. But, alas...today has presented itself the perfect situation. Unfortunately.
Today is my birthday. My husband and kiddos, mom and step dad have made my day really special. (As have all you FB friends who wished me a happy birthday *wink*) But, a few pretty significant family members didn't even acknowledge my birthday this year. No card, no call, nothin'. A few really aren't surprising, as sad as it is. Others, though, there is a twinge of hurt. Who am I kidding? More than a twinge.
But, instead of letting it fester inside me, like my flesh would like to do, I'm going to give the gift of forgiveness. These people won't even know they're being forgiven because, well, I don't think they'll bother asking. I have to say this won't be very easy but I'm going to take this as an opportunity that has presented itself for one more way that I can give this year. Thank you, Lord, for that opportunity.
Today is my birthday. My husband and kiddos, mom and step dad have made my day really special. (As have all you FB friends who wished me a happy birthday *wink*) But, a few pretty significant family members didn't even acknowledge my birthday this year. No card, no call, nothin'. A few really aren't surprising, as sad as it is. Others, though, there is a twinge of hurt. Who am I kidding? More than a twinge.
But, instead of letting it fester inside me, like my flesh would like to do, I'm going to give the gift of forgiveness. These people won't even know they're being forgiven because, well, I don't think they'll bother asking. I have to say this won't be very easy but I'm going to take this as an opportunity that has presented itself for one more way that I can give this year. Thank you, Lord, for that opportunity.
Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32
Ephesians 4:32
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21-23
Matthew 18:21-23
I know all about the forgive before they ask, and sometimes they never ask at all and go on like everything is just perfect. That is a tough one! But it is also rewarding. I think when we forgive, like this, we have to get past the whole thought of "I'll think about forgiving them if they ask for it." I know that yes, it would be nice for someone to ask for forgivness when they have hurt us, but that doesn't always happen. Be it due to their pride, they don't feel they were wrong, or they are not a believer. Our family went thru a really tough time a few years back, when I had to take action against a christian school teacher, after we had tried for months to work things out (I was the TA). She treated my son horribly, taught the class that she would treat them according to how many "brownie points" they had, had an array of prescription meds on her desk, and family members were afraid that she had actually tried to cut her wrist. We prayed, we talked, we counseled, but to no avail. One day it all came to a horrible eruption. She had thrown something at my son, and then for his honesty, stood him up on top of his desk and told the rest of the class, he was the reason that they would no longer play any games, or ever have any fun in the class. When confronted, she quit, and then proceeded to sneak back into the school during the night and destroy the classroom and steal lots of supplies. What made this so difficult? She is my SIL's sister. My SIL wanted my brother to pick a side. Now, even though my brother, SIL, or this woman has never asked forgivness, I still had to forgive to move on with my life. Is it all better? NO! My sons are treated so different than the rest of the nephews. And to go a bit further on the whole giving thing getting out of control, my brother and SIL are buying their neice(on SIL's side) a laptop, and said they were only spending $20 or so on gifts for our side of the family. Sometimes I still get hurt. Not because of the monetary amount, but because she will tell the family on our side what she bought the other side and doesn't see anything wrong. She has even commented on how easy it is to shop for our family, because we really don't care about the gift, we just want to have family time. Who is happier? I feel we are because we are not so burdened down with materialism. Our lives are not lived on the premise that we need to have EVERYTHING to be happy. We can be happy with very little. We only need our family and our loving Savior. That is why I think you have it so "right" about the whole idea of giving. I look forward to your blog each day. It is one of the first things I check in the mornings. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Sorry, I didn't meant to write a book;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angela, for commenting and the encouragement. Forgiving is definitely not easy, especially when its the same people time and again. But I guess thats why Jesus responded the way He did about fogiving 70 X's 7 bc He knew there would be these people in our lives!!
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