On Friday morning my husband took out our special children's Bible. It is a "real" Bible, without any pictures, but written in language my second grader can read and (mostly) understand on his own. We read about the events of Easter, and reflected on this precious time as a family.
On Sunday morning we went to church. We were a little late, and missed most of the praise and worship. Even so, I am so glad we went. We sat in the chapel, which is adjacent to the big auditorium. It is comfortable for parents with small children and nobody frowns on busy toddlers who can't keep very still or very quiet! As we sang the last song or two, I was still tying the girls hair. I know this is terrible, but, sometimes it just is not so easy getting yourself and three small children ready and presentable early in the morning! This is not our norm, and I believe the Lord understands and knows we truly wanted to be there...
The pastor spoke about true forgiveness. This is a message I will not easily forget. It was so simple, yet so mighty! The girls colored in happily and we could listen to most of the sermon. In between, another toddler handed his used tissue to my husband and my youngest had to have an urgent bathroom break. (I will get the cd during the week for the part I missed!)
What I am taking along with me from this service I would like to share with you. As pastor Leonard said, you can't really celebrate Easter without thinking about forgiveness. My purpose is not to preach to you, this is just something that truly touched my heart. I am also not repeating his whole sermon, but this part hit me between the eyes:
"How do you know that you have truly forgiven someone?
- You don't have to tell anyone else about what happened,
- You don't try to make the person feel guilty who hurt you, and
- You let them save face by covering their sin."
If we keep on repeating to others stories from our past where somebody hurt us or keep bringing up old hurts in relationships, we have not yet truly forgiven that person.
Forgiveness is a decision we need to take regardless of whether somebody asks for our forgiveness or not. It is important to forgive, mostly, for our own sake. Un-forgiveness affects our state of mind and even affects our health. We also need to forgive, so that God can forgive us... And what wonderful relief does one experience when you set people, and yourself, free in this way!
I had a heart-to-heart with myself, thinking about so many things that the pastor said. I need to make sure that I truly forgive. I will probably have to do this on a daily basis. But with God's help, I know that it can be done!
After church we had a special breakfast with my mother at a family friendly restaurant. Arriving home afterwards, the children were delighted to find the Easter bunny had paid us a visit and left a trail of Easter treats! We were delighted to know that this year, our children and ourselves learned a little more on Easter.
I hope you all had a wonderful long Easter week-end, spent with loved ones. And may the true meaning of Easter be carried in your heart for much longer than this.
Love much!
S.
0 comments:
Post a Comment