FORGIVING

The sun is shining and I can see the dust.  Now, I keep the house picked up, but all the rain and dreary weather sucked up my “spring house cleaning” energy.  Since this is the first day of summer, I no longer see the need to do a spring cleaning.  Trouble is the sunshine points out the places I have been dusting around. 

So…. up came the doilies.  Washed!  Miscellaneous blankets washed and put away.  Pillows fluffed.  Kitchen throw rugs washed, but it seems that was one more washing than the backs liked.  I see a shopping trip in my future.  Magazines sorted.  I was making headway.  Did you get the “was” part?  I was making headway until I opened a journal. 

The journal opened to April 24, 2017 ---

So much for making this a daily Journal.  Habits are easy to break but hard to establish.  I have been on an Andy Andrews reading binge.  Am reading The Heart Mender.  A story of second chances.  Very good!  (As you notice, I do not journal in complete sentences.  I cannot write as fast as my mind works – or doesn’t work.  But, come to think of it, I do not blog in complete sentences either, which sends spell check into a tail spin.  Thank heaven for the ignore all option.  Back to the journal entry.)  From The Heart Mender:

One of the characters, Danny, a downs syndrome boy, is talking to Helen, a widow with a lot of hate eating away at her.

Helen’s husband had been killed in the war and Danny asked, “But who are you mad at?  Are you mad at a soldier?” 

He continued, “If you are mad at a soldier, I think you have to forgive him.  You want to know why?”

Helen answered, “Yes.”

“I think you have to forgive him for you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because whenever you get hurt by somebody, you can either think about them, all day long and let ‘em keep hurting you inside …. Or give them to God.”

“Give them to God?”

“Uh-huh.  If you forgive them, it doesn’t mean they get away with what they did … it just means that you don’t have to think about it all the time.  You can’t do anything anyway, except be mad.  See?  You just give ‘em to God.  Then you can be happy.”

After dropping Danny off, Helen thought about what he had said.  She smiled at a crazy thought:  So, what does God do with them when HE gets them?

The answer popped into her head:  What do I care?  They don’t belong to me anymore.

When I read that, I was amazed.  We hold onto un-forgiveness with a tight fist and a cold heart.  We think, “they” do not deserve forgiveness.  We think we want to make their lives harder not easier.  We want to hold onto it so we have a reason to stay mad or hurt.

But the main thing is I never thought about Giving them to God.  I never thought about that being part of the process:  Say a prayer, “I forgive __?__.”  Place them in the hands of God.  Go on. 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.     Ephesians 4:31-32

Oh -- as in Christ God forgave you – as in Christ God forgave me. 

Come to think of it forgiving them, placing them in God’s hands, and going on is a much better option. 

So, what does God do with them when HE gets them?

The answer popped into her head:  What do I care?  They don’t belong to me anymore.