Forgiveness

My sister-in-law and I were talking the other day about forgiveness and whether it is easy or difficult to forgive some transgressions. We wondered if the “offense” had any effect on our level of forgiveness. Through our conversation it struck me that no matter how grave the situation forgiveness is always the answer. I realized that it makes no difference the offense but, the difference is how we react to that offense. When our feelings have been trampled…or we have been lied to we feel it is essential to rationalize our responses to the offense. As we go about our daily lives are we holding grudges? I hope not as it is easy to do. We have all been there at some point in our lives. When we were young it was effortless as we didn’t know any better, however we are now walking the walk, learning to live a life of love and compassion while role modeling to our families and friends. Living a life as a Christian is truly treating people like we would like to be treated…”The Golden Rule”… I am surprised when talking with people that they have never heard of the Golden Rule…how can that be? Is it because we are not living it? Let’s begin setting the bar higher for our families / friends to emulate showing the world what it is really like to live a life as a Christian. We forgive when hurt, we love our neighbors and we strive to reach out to those who may or may not deserve it (in our eyes)… I love the saying, “If you change the way you look at things; everything will change”. (Author Unknown) Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” My prayer today is that we look into our hearts and clean out all anger, disgust or harsh words we have been storing up to unleash at the “right” moment. There is no “right” moment and all the negative feelings we are carrying around shows in our lives and on our faces…So today let's begin cleansing our souls in order to see more clearly and feel the Joy that awaits us. Smiles & Blessings, Cynthia Collins Kaitfors