ByAngie
How To Build Your Own Lemonade Stand Step 2: Forgive
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV
Last week I wrote on grieving. Sometimes, once we have completed that step we realize we need to forgive in order to be able to move on.
I can not stress enough how important this step is. If you simply skip over it, your lemonade will be VERY bitter!
Forgiveness is rarely easy to just hand out. It can be a struggle to let go of anger and hurt that is rightfully felt. Especially if the forgiveness needs to be given to someone who does not care, denies their fault, is unknown, clueless of their action, or did something unbearably horrible.
Something equally difficult is forgiving ourselves. It is often said that we are our own worst critics. Isn’t that the truth? I don’t know anyone who is as hard on me as I am on myself.
Regardless, we are required to forgive if we want to be forgiven. What all does this entail? Well, let’s look at the definition from Webster’s:
Definition of FORGIVE
transitive verb
1a: to give up resentment of or claim to requital for <forgive an insult> b: to grant relief from payment of <forgive a debt>2: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) :pardon <forgive one’s enemies>
Do you have to be friends with the person and act like nothing ever happened? Absolutely not! But forgive and move on? Yes.
Easier said than done, right? It usually takes quite a chunk of prayer time to be able to achieve this step. As with all things in life, pray for God to help you. Pray for guidance. Pray for forgiveness from Him. But I guarantee that once you do reach that point, you will feel so much better. Then, you can move right along with making that lemonade!
Angie editor
Angie, a mother of 5, currently lives in West Tennessee with her husband of 13 years, Bobby, & 3 of their children. She is a Military Mom to her oldest child and also a non-custodial mother of 1 that lives with her during the Summer and visits during other parts of the year. Angie is a stay at home mom, homeschooling all 3 of her younger children. (She plans to homeschool her children through high school graduation.) She'll be the first to admit she is human & full of flaws. Every day she praises God for His grace & mercy on her life. She's lived in 5 different states, grew up in a Pastor's home, loves to craft & sew, and is what you would call a "Disney Geek" since birth. Dreaming of one day returning to school, her free time is spent studying, attempting to play piano, and helping wherever she can at her local church. If you have any questions or for any other reason need to contact someone about this blog, she is the one to contact. You can email her at Angie (at) RaisingStickyHands (dot) com.
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