Forgiveness...

I'm currently reading "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver.  I just finished a chapter on forgiveness.  It was quite convicting.  At first, I thought it didn't really apply to me.  I forgive...but how often do I neglect to forget.  A few months ago I had a woman call me a hypocrite.  The person said it as she passed me, I guess hoping I heard it, but so no one else would hear it.  It took me a few seconds to realize what she said, I asked the other person in the room if she heard what was said, and she hadn't.  The situation happened at church, my husband wasn't there, so I went and told my dad.  Looking back I find it funny that I went running to my daddy.

Anyway, this person had no right to say that to me, and I should have immediately forgiven her and shown her love.  God even spoke to my heart about something I should do for her, and I put it off.  I should have repayed her evil with kindness.  I simply did nothing.

Forgiveness is a choice.  We say we forgive, but do we really?  When we sin and seek forgiveness from God, I'm so thankful that He chooses to forget.  The Bible says my sins are in the deepest part of the sea.  "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19

I teach my daughter all the time that when someone wrongs her she needs to repay with kindness.  A friend recently said to me that she thinks God gives us children to show us our own faults. 

Although you may not have had someone outright be mean to you, how often do we get mad at our husband or children about something little then harbor bitterness all day?  Would it not be easier to simply forgive and let it go?

Joanna lists five steps in helping to truly forgive...

• Make the choice (choosing to forgive is an act of the will)
• Find a faithful friend (one who won't tell you what you want to hear)
• Bless, don't curse (ouch)
• Keep no record of wrongs (again, ouch)
• Bring it all to God

"Jesus is willing to pick up anything you are willing to put down." I want to be a forgiving person.  I want to forget it and pretend it never happened.  I want to repay evil with kindness.  I do not want to keep records.  I want to forgive, as God for Christ's sake has forgiven me.