Tag Archives: forgiving

Forgiveness

Eph 4:31   Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Eph 4:32   Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

As time drifts along, it becomes apparent that changes happen when I’m not looking. Things that seemed so foreign not so very long ago, seem so common place now.

I like to think of myself as a pretty forgiving kind of guy. I’m usually pretty good at understanding when mistakes are made and of course, it helps when there’s an apology but in reality, true apologies are rare and I’ve learned that if the only way I’m going to forgive someone is through their apology, then I’m kind of missing the point.

I know that sounds like I get wronged a lot, but that’s not true. I do have a soft heart with most people, so I do get my feelings hurt on occasion but probably not much more than anyone else.

There have always been certain people though, that I’ve held on to grudges against. Not a lot of them but some. They’ve usually been the ones that have done things that were completely out of my control. Especially when they’ve done things that hurt people I cared about. I think those things are hard things to forgive.

I have noticed though that the more I realize some of the things that I’ve done in my life, those things I’m not especially proud of, the things that have hurt other people, the more of those I remember, the easier it has become for me to forgive others.

There’s nothing like watching memories of your own behavior to get you to reexamine the behavior of others.

Old Friends

This past few months have been quite interesting. I have become quite a fan of the online networking site, FaceBook. It seems every day or so I find or am found by someone out of the past, people I never thought I would hear from again. People that I had completely lost contact with and had no idea where they were or what they were doing.

Most of the time, friends just fade away. Life goes on and we get interested in different things. Sometimes though a wrong is committed, and friendships are severed. Those are the most joyful to renew. Those are the ones that not only renew the friendship but the faith that there were strong bonds in the first place and maybe that’s what made the hurtful act all that much hurtful.

Sometimes the measure of friendship isn’t your ability to not harm but your capacity to forgive the things done to you and ask forgiveness for your own mistakes.
Randy K. Milholland Something Positive Comic, 11-07-05

One of the greatest feelings in one’s life is to find that the person that you wronged has forgiven you, of course, it is then your duty to work to forgive yourself, so as not to taint this new chapter of your friendship.
I guess one of the things that I’ve learned in the past few months is that I am blessed. I have met countless people in my life and so many of them, even in our absences from each other, are still friends. What more can you ask for from life but to have people remember you fondly and hope to find you again?
Can you imagine us
Years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly?
Simon and Garfunkel Old Friends