TENDING FORGIVENESS

TODAY'S QUOTE:
How does one know if she has forgiven? You tend to feel sorrow over the circumstance instead of rage, you tend to feel sorry for the person rather than angry with him. You tend to have nothing left to say about it all... Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The fact is you will do all those things and more. There can be no real peace without real pardons being passed all around. Some to offenders who never meant to offend. Some to people who wounded you on purpose and found joy from your pain. Some to ones who deserve to be forgiven. Some to others who deserve nothing except the bad karma they earned. Some to yourself for failures in judgement, sins of both the intentional and the unintentional sort, or simply occasions when you were a hot mess without the good sense God gave you.

Alexander Pope said, "To err is human, to forgive is divine" and no truer words were ever spoken. One definition of divine is, being or having the nature of a God. We are made with the power of forgiveness at our fingertips. We may learn through life to hold a grudge, but any lesson learned can be unlearned when we learn better. I like to think He grades on the curve when we show we are trying. And I firmly believe He will judge me as I judge others... so not forgiving would be a poor investment in my souls future. We do not earn any points for just forgiving the smallest offenses or the sweetest offenders. If you cannot pardon all, you just might as well not pardon anyone.

Forgiveness is strong medicine for heartaches and soul sickness. We do not have to become best friends. We do not have to forget either, but I have found that once forgiven the need to dwell evaporates. If I refuse to rent any space inside my heart for a grudge then my mind resents them taking up any space there. I place the pain of their offence in Gods hands and their punishment in karmas lap. I have too much to do. I cannot waste the time and effort it takes to lug a grudge around. I cannot accomplish anything positive with a heart full of negatives. And I cannot reach for the divine with dirty hands. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!