Always Forgive, Never Forget
A little bit of a random thought
Parenting has taught me so much about myself.
I think that, in general, I am pretty quick to seek out forgiveness once I realize I have done something wrong. However, there is something about asking for forgiveness that is vulnerable.
I realize that I apologize…but I rarely ask to be forgiven.
The forgiveness is irrelevant, right? I can just say my piece and know that I’ve done all I can.
But, today, I had to ask my daughter to forgive me for the way I reacted about something (I was definitely in the wrong and embarrassed her when I shouldn’t have).
And, for a moment, I felt this lurch in my stomach…because I realized that she could say no.
And, even worse, I probably wouldn’t blame her for not forgiving me right away.
It was at that moment that The Lord’s Prayer telling us, “Forgive us our sins as we have forgive those who sin against us,” has a lot to say about the act of forgiving that we overlook.
We all come to prayer knowing that God has and will forgive us for our sins. The birth, life, ministry, mutilation, death, and resurrection of Jesus show us that.
And yet…there is still that moment of realizing that forgiveness may not be guaranteed because the first part of that prayer hinges on the second part “as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”
Forgiveness is easy to receive, difficult to accept, and incredibly hard to offer…because we have a hard time forgetting.
And we never should forget…but we should remember that we are called to forgive (and to ask to be forgiven).
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for my sweet, loving daughter who is always so quick to forgive her daddy even when he is being mean. Jesus, help me ask for forgiveness, even when I think I know everything is fine. Spirit, show me who needs my forgiveness. Amen.
Remember
Don’t just apologize, seek forgiveness…and be okay with possibly not being forgiven. It’s a part of the human experience we tend to forget about.