| I just really love trees so I added this pic for flair! |
Holy busy-ness Batman! My life is a freaking roller coaster ride that is spiraling down the track at about 120 MPH. I feel like I need to vomit! That being said, I'm alive. Work has been particuarly insane these past few months. My sis in law asked me the other day if I abandonned my blog. Heck no! I've just had trouble finding time to breathe let alone think about a blog post! Anyway, there is one thing that has been weighing heavy on my heart and mind lately.....FORGIVENESS.
It's such a simple word. Forgive. To forgive. To be forgiven. Here's the dictionary.com version of that word for ya:
for·give
1. to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2. to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3. to grant pardon to (a person).
4. to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies.
5. to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
Small word, big meaning. Often times in our lives, things come up. People do things that we don't like. That we don't appreciate. But it's the bigger person who can look within themselves and say "hey, this person is my friend. Maybe they need my forgiveness now more than ever?"
And don't even get me started on forgiveness in marriage! I once heard that forgiveness is the greatst gift that you can give to your marriage. Why? Becuase there are going to be times when he just doesn't get it girls. He doesn't understand that your emotions are literally at their highest level of crazy and that telling you he doesn't like the salad dressing you bought this month is the one thing that is going to set you off. God forbid he even mention the way you look today. (unless it's of course a comparison to a Greek Goddess...In that case, I'm always willing to listen!).
My point with all this rambling is that I think learning to forgive and to ask for forgiveness when you've done a wrong is one of the big parts about becoming an adult and really growing into yourself. Sure we say "I'm sorry" when we're younger and our parents make us apologize to a sibling for ripping the heads of their Barbie, but I don't think we really understand what we're saying. Or maybe it's that in the big scheme of things, tifts like that are so small that we don't grasp the relevance of the situation.
I know that these past few months I've been holding a grudge or two against people who probably just need me to let it go and forgive them. Some of them don't even know that I've been quietly judging them and creating a tally in my head for the wrongs they've committed. It's my choice to become a better person. To no longer sit back and judge when I'm not sure how I would react in the same situation. It's also my choice to forgive them for not behaving in a manner that I expected they should. Forgiveness is key. Forgiveness is the greatest gift we can give to a relationship.
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, All Men are Brothers: Autobiographical Reflections
