Loving Forgiveness

Hey there wives and mamas. Sorry for the abrupt pause in blog posts. The last few months have been crazy: We found out we are having twins, moved up to MN from FL to be closer to my family and we have been on a job hunt for my husband and getting settled in. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Anyhow, I hope you are all doing well and that you’ll forgive my neglect.

The last time I wrote to you it was about love, the 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love. Impossible love…or so it would seem.

To jog my memory, I just went back to read it a couple of minutes ago and reflected on how I have loved over the last few months. Do I love my husband and my son (and my unborn twins)? Yes! I absolutely do. But would my actions reflect that Christian love? If I’m honest, no. I’m still selfish. I still get frustrated when I don’t get my way. I still brag about how I do most of the care-taking of our one year old. (Hello, what stay at home mom doesn’t? duh.) And, let’s be real for a moment; pregnancy + sex = not my favorite thing to do. But it’s not the worst thing to do either. Yet I make him beg and plead as if it’s such a burden. In front of the world, I love my family. It’s plain to them. Behind closed doors…some might question just based on my complaining.

Now, let’s move beyond husband and children…How do you love your parents and siblings? How do you love your in-laws? What about your crazy aunt?

I don’t mean to completely reiterate my previous post, but love is hard. And maybe the hardest part about love is forgiveness. People hurt people, whether on purpose or on accident, it’s just a fact. People do dumb things and it gets on the nerves of the *ahem* smarter people. And then sometimes they’re not even sorry! OR willing to apologize! How dare they. How can you forgive them if they don’t apologize? How much more selfish could they be…keeping you from being able to forgive them like that…? Sheesh. The nerve of some people. Making you remain bitter and angry with them.

Come on, ladies, that’s ridiculous. But, that’s the lie of Satan: making you think that the person needs to ask your forgiveness BEFORE you can forgive them. We’re all guilty of believing and acting on that lie. Just like we are all guilty of sinning against people we love (and people we don’t even know).

You are not better than your family or your neighbor. Your sin deserves Hell just like theirs. But somehow we all have a heaping amount of grace for ourselves and barely a teaspoonful for the rest of the world to share.

Jesus bled and died for them, just like he bled and died for you. And your sin against him was far greater than any sin anyone has ever committed against you. How arrogant are we to say, “God, they hurt me, they stole from me, so I can’t forgive them. But I have cursed your name and worshipped false idols instead of you and you need to forgive me.

Scripture says to confess your sin and humble yourself before the Lord. Perhaps the first step in that direction is to start forgiving the “unforgivable”. Pray and ask God for strength. It’s not easy, but if He can forgive the whole world of their sins I am certain that He can extend His grace to you so that you can forgive those who hurt you. All it takes is your willingness.