Our Forgiveness Blog
Do You Want to Become a Forgiving Person?
“I hope you are beginning to see that forgiveness is not only something you do, nor is it just a feeling or a thought inside you. It pervades your very being. Forgiveness, in other words, might become a part of your identity, a part of who you are as a person. Try this thought on for size to see if it fits: I am a forgiving person. Did that hurt or feel strange? Try it again. Of course, to say something like this and then to live your life this way will take plenty of practice. Part of that practice is to get to know the entire process of forgiveness”
Excerpt from the book, The Forgiving Life, page 79.
Helpful Forgiveness Hint
R.E.
When you forgive, please realize two things. First, the art of forgiving is for imperfect people and so please do not be hard on yourself if you struggle. The late Lewis Smedes taught me this. Humility can be an antidote to discouragement. Second, because forgiveness is a virtue, please do expect something special from yourself. You can excel in forgiveness and even surprise yourself. Aristotle taught me this.
Forgiveness for Children
I wrote a children’s book, Rising Above the Storm Clouds. It is about a bunny family (yes, a bunny family) in which the two bunny children, Freddie and Ezzie, get into a little squabble. The book is a series of similes in which the children are taught what forgiveness is “like.” An excerpt follows:
“Forgiveness is like this. You’ve just had a big blow-up fight with your friend. The world is all gray clouds and gloom. You go out to the meadow with all the wildflowers. The sun is wearing a happy face, and there is your friend with the biggest smile, hoping you would come. You both lie in the meadow, look up at the cotton ball clouds, and talk of the time you took that airplane ride together. When you forgive each other, you might be surprised when you both find a fragrant summer meadow bursting forth in your heart.”
OK, adults, now you are challenged to take forgiveness seriously. You never know if a child is watching what you do…..Pass on the legacy of forgiveness.
R.E.
Wisdom From a Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Please consider the following quotation from Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Now for a little homework assignment. Please consider doing one small, seemingly inconsequential act of love toward someone who has annoyed you recently—-maybe a smile or an encouraging word or an act of service of some kind (such as holding a door open for him or her). Practice forgiving through a small act that has great love attached to it.
Helpful Forgiveness Hint
When you have been hurt by another person, try to look far beyond the injustice itself and your current feelings. Try to see long into the future and ask yourself this question: How might my reaction to this situation affect my legacy, what I leave behind when I die? If you stay even mildly annoyed for a long time, you might be leaving behind the disappointment and even anger that you passed to others, even without intending to do so. If you forgive, you might be leaving behind a sense of love in the face of hardship. Which would you rather leave to others?
R.E.
