Forgiveness

There was a wonderful and extremely well done series on Forgiveness at Elevation Church. As soon as I heard about the series I arranged our schedule to be sure we would not miss church even though we were leaving for vacation on the first Sunday. We were able to attend the Saturday evening service and we were home before the next Sunday.

I like to pride myself on the fact that I am not a grudge holder...I just don't see the point. I also don't feel like I am intentionally spiteful. I hope I am setting a good example for my kids. I want them to know that everyone is different and we should accept people they way they are - however I also hope that their kindness is never mistaken for weakness.

As much as I say I like to pride myself on being a non grudge holder and not spiteful...a few years back I fell into the trap. I abruptly stopped speaking to someone who I had been friends with for over 20 years...no need for me to get into the details of "why" but just know it was the first time in my 38 years of life that I had done something like that. In the beginning I struggled daily with this...then time passed and I was attending Elevation and learning so much and growing in many ways...God put it on my heart that I needed to reach out to this friend - whether I felt I was right or wrong did not matter, He was telling me that she needed me. So I took the sort of easier route and sent an e-mail to her. We went back and forth via e-mail for a few weeks and then just before the holidays in 2008 the two of us met, no husbands, no kids, just us...the way it began when we were 16. Turns out she did need me, and I needed her for different reasons. We agreed to never let something like this happen again and that we should know that we can tell each other right away if something is bothering us. Today we are just like we had been for all the years leading up to our "falling out." Right now she is going through what is possibly the hardest time in her life. I can't imagine what I would feel like if I just heard through the grape vine about all that she is going through, or if I could not be there for her, her husband and their kids if they need me. The moral of this story is don't wait, don't let stupid, non important things come between you and someone you love AND most importantly whether you are right or wrong...don't let it influence your decision to reach out, someone has to make the first move. I am very glad that I did.