This morning I was woken up by an excited four-year-old voice saying, "Mommy! Snow is coming out of the sky! Can I eat breakfast and go shovel the driveway?" Thankfully, it was almost time to get up anyway, and how could I have been upset with him with such enthusiasm coming out of his whole being?! I was thankful for the childlike excitement that a simple snowfall can bring. It got me all excited about the day, too!
I'm also thankful that guardian angels protected that same little four-year-old boy a few hours later as he tumbled head first down the basement stairs! I heard the bumping and banging and ran over just in time to see him skid down the last two stairs, down onto the concrete floor at the bottom. Of course there were tears and hugs and prayers, and I'm thankful that a little neon-green Diego band-aid fixed a tiny scrape on Timothy's hip bone.
Today I am also thankful for humility and forgiveness. Last week a dear Christian friend of mine accused me of something that I did not do. She was quite adament about it, yet if I wanted to, I could have forwarded an email that proved my innocence, but I didn't. It wasn't worth the fight. I apologized that I had caused confusion and pain for her, but also stated that I believed that I was innocent. The Lord gave me the grace to forgive her there on the spot and to even forget the whole incident, and that's why this morning I was surprised by a phone call from her. She called to apologize for her accusations last week and said that she realized she was wrong and asked for my forgiveness. Wow. Her humility in coming back to me humbled me!! I assured her that I had already forgiven her, and our relationship is restored! Asking for forgiveness and the act of actually forgiving someone is NOT an easy thing! Many times relationships are sorely bruised and damaged beyond repair because there is not a complete attempt to reconcile and forgive. I am so thankful to say that this situation seems to have played out exactly how God wants us to react. I can't take credit for it. I know it was the Holy Spirit working in both of us and I am so thankful to have been a part of such a humbling experience. I'm also thankful for my sister in Christ who also allowed the Holy Spirit to work in her heart and make things right. I have a greater respect for her today because of this, and a greater thankfulness for healed relationships!
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3 comments:
WOW! The God we serve is so awesome! If you had reacted in defensiveness or anger, that whole situation with your friend would have been sooo different. Praise God that He let the spirit speak to your heart and fellowship (sistership?) was restored. Thanks for the good reminder.
Don't forget we'd be happy to take homeless, less-than-perfect cookies into our bellies... I mean homes.
Grace in any form is humbling. Forgiveness and confession such a gift of cleansing from the Holy Spirit. Thanks for sharing- it brings up memories of moments of grace in my life and I am thankful once again for the Holy Spirit's place in my life.
It's so nice to "forgive and forget" rather than to harbor ill fillings toward one of God's children (or anyone else). It not only creates barriers but it is very detrimental to your own health, mental, physical and spiritual.
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