Quote of the day:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness" -- Author unknown Think about it: I got my finger stuck to a paperclip with some super glue and no matter what I did I couldn’t separate my finger from the paperclip until I stopped and gently preyed the paperclip from my finger. It reminded me of this story of a father who introduced his children this way: "This is Pete. He's the clumsy one of the lot." "That's Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She's the sloppy one." "As always, Mike's last. He'll be late for his own funeral, I promise you." The dad did a thorough job of gluing his children to their faults and mistakes. People do it to us and we do it to those we love all the time. They remind us of our failures, our errors, our sins, and they won't let us live them down. There are people who try, sometimes desperately, to free themselves from their past who would love a chance to begin again. When we don't let people forget their past, when we don't forgive, we glue them to their mistakes and refuse to see them as more than something they have done. However, when we forgive, we gently pry the doer of the hurtful deed from the deed itself, and we say that the past is just that-past--over and done with. Are you glued to something in your past or are you gluing others to their past? Try gently prying it apart with forgiveness setting you and them free.
0 Comments
Quote of the day:
"You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.” -- Lewis B. Smedes Think about it: Here is a story by Joseph and what his last year’s New Year’s resolution looked like. I liked it so much I couldn’t wait to send it out. I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions last year. Instead, I determined to make heartfelt and long overdue amends to someone I’ve known for a number of years. Someone in whom I had found plenty of character defects, a person I found very difficult to work with, much less love. I’ve known for some time now that I needed to apologize to this fellow and ask for his forgiveness. It wasn’t to be about his faults, real or imagined, but about the way I felt about him, the way I had talked about him behind his back. This was not about his sins, but mine. Polite character assassination is what I had been engaged in, no doubt, and it was bugging me a lot. So I told this person that I needed to talk with him. Pent-up emotions burst forth… The dam of pride and resentment had finally broken. With tears in my eyes, I ’fessed up, told him how deeply sorry I was, and asked for his forgiveness for being such a heel—a real schlemiel. He accepted my apology and offered his own. After clearing the air, it turned out this fellow human being, whom I had treated so dismissively and unfairly, was someone of immense value, someone very special. Now the future looks bright—the foundation has been laid for a new friendship. I can’t think of a finer way to start a New Year. Maybe you have someone you need to ask for forgiveness from to start your New Year off right. But why wait until the New Year? Why waste a moment longer? Do it now! Quote of the day:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness.” – Author Unknown Reflection: Victor Hugo’s literary classic Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, whose already difficult life is brought down by one lone decision when he steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. As a consequence, he spends the next 19 years in the notorious Bagne of Toulon prison. Unable to find work after his release because he is an ex-convict, Valjean begs at the home of the Bishop of Digne, who feeds him and gives him a bed for the night. But Valjean, overcome by despair at what seems an impossibly bleak future, yields to temptation, steals some of the Bishop’s silver, and slips away in the night. He doesn’t get far, however, before he is arrested with the silver on his person, and is hauled back to face the Bishop. Knowing what will happen to Valjean if he is convicted a second time, the kind Bishop takes a chance on Valjean. He tells the police, “I gave him the silver.” From that moment on he is a changed man. Les Misérables is a great story packed full of lessons, one being the moving portrayal of the redeeming power of forgiveness. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive granting them a second chance?
Quote of the day:
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” —Paul Boese Reflection: Tony Compal tells a story about President Clinton first meeting with Nelson Mandela. In his conversation with this great leader of South Africa, the president said, "When you were released from prison, Mr. Mandela, I woke my daughter at three o'clock in the morning. I wanted her to see this historic event. As you marched from the cellblock across the yard to the gate of the prison, the camera focused in on your face. I have never seen such anger, and even hatred, in any man as was expressed on your face at that time. That's not the Nelson Mandela I know today. What was that all about?" Mandela answered, "I'm surprised that you saw that, and I regret that the cameras caught my anger. As I walked across the courtyard that day I thought to myself, “They've taken everything from you that matters. Your cause is dead. Your family is gone. Your friends have been killed. Now they're releasing you, but there's nothing left for you out-there. And I hated them for what they had taken from me. Then, I sensed an inner voice saying to me, `Nelson! For twenty-seven years you were their prisoner, but you were always a free man! Don't allow them to make you into a free man, only to turn you into their prisoner!'" An unforgiving spirit creates bitterness in our souls and imprisons our spirits. Failure to forgive imprisons us. If Mandela can forgive so can you. Quote of the day:
“We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.” — Chuck Swindoll Reflection: Whenever we are hurt by someone, we have a choice to make: Will you use your energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution? You can't do both. Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior. Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you. They must prove they have changed over time. The bottom line is you don’t have to trust someone to forgive them. Is there someone you need to separate the trust issue from the forgiveness issue? Quote of the day:
"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.” -- Thomas Fuller Reflection: Among people of the Jewish faith, the holiest day of the year is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It's a day set aside for prayer and fasting while people account for their sins and seek reconciliation with God. According to tradition, a person who sincerely repents on this day will be forgiven by God. But there's another part to this great day of healing. It involves being forgiven by those who have been offended. This can't happen until the offending person goes to the one who has been hurt and speaks healing words. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a National Day of Atonement, regardless of one’s faith, in which everyone made the effort to try and heal our broken relationships? Why wait for that? We can turn any day we want into a day to make amends. We already have the words, “Please forgive me and I forgive you.” We just need to say them. Is this your day of atonement? Quote of the day:
"Forgiveness doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.” – Author unknown Reflection: I think this is a beautiful story on forgiveness. A woman in Florida was raped, shot in the head by her attacker and left for dead. She survived, but she was blind and mutilated. She later appeared on a television talk show. The interviewer remarked, "You must have a lot of resentment and hatred toward the man who did this!" She replied, "No, I gave that man one night of my life, and I'm not going to give him a second more!" Of course, you can cling to your grudge if you want to. But when you do, you use your strength for this day making yourself and the people around you feel miserable and guilty. Or, you can cut the line to what is behind you through the power of forgiveness and use your strength to pull you toward what lies ahead. Quote of the day:
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.” — Buddha Consider: To go along with this great quote here is an old fable: A rodent which tried to gnaw at a nail file gnawed and gnawed and gnawed, until the pile of filings began to grow. He was overjoyed until he discovered that something was terribly wrong. The pile of filings were the remains of his own teeth and not the file. All his gnawing had no effect on the file. He ended up just hurting himself. So is it when we allow ourselves not to forgive. Are you hurting yourself? Is there someone you need to forgive? |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|