Monthly Archives: April 2019

On Forgiveness

We have talked about forgiveness a lot this week at home. It started with a conversation about a horrific event that happened at the Mall of America to a young boy last week. Evil is everywhere in this world, we are not exempt from it and honestly when we hear stories, especially stories about children getting hurt, we are outraged.

Our youngest son was visibly upset upon hearing what had happened to this innocent boy. He spoke angry words of revenge at what should happen to the man who committed the crime. I get it, I do. But I said to him that revenge wasn’t the answer. Yes this man would have to pay for his crime, we have a legal system set up to manage that…but ultimately we are called to have hearts of forgiveness.

He was shocked by what I said and asked me an incredibly difficult question. “So if he had done that to me mom, would you forgive him?”

Ugh. That’s some reality right there. It is easy for me to say we need to forgive, but could I really do it if it happened to me? I was honest and told him that I hoped that I was never put in a situation where I was called to that kind of radical forgiveness. But what I did know was that when we live with resentment against someone else, it is like a poison. Often times our hatred towards the “enemy” only ends up hurting us more than the intended person.

I have heard it said that forgiveness isn’t letting someone off the hook for what they have done, rather letting go of the bitterness/hatred you are feeling so that you can move forward.

And then I told Elijah that if this man, who had committed this heinous act, at some point came to a true repentance of his actions and asked God for forgiveness, that I believed God would forgive him.

“No way!” he said…

It doesn’t make sense does it? So I used that time to tell him about a man named Paul, a mighty disciple of God who at one time was named Saul and spent his days persecuting and murdering Christians for their faith. Yes, for centuries God has been using sinners and radically transforming them for His glory.

That night we did one of our Bible lessons and it was part of the story of David. The lesson before had told of his mighty defeat of Goliath. How God had called him and anointed him. But this evenings story looked at the sinful side of David’s heart. How he longed for Bathsheba, took her for his own, got her pregnant and then had her husband killed at war so he wouldn’t be found out.

“But I thought he was a hero?” our daughter said.

From hero to murderer….

And yet, because of David’s willingness to repent and ask for forgiveness, God forgave him, blessed him and used him in amazing ways. And while many of us won’t find ourselves on either end of that extreme spectrum, hero nor murderer, we all fall somewhere in between don’t we?

To illustrate further, Dominic drew this picture of a ladder, and wrote the word “fib” at the very bottom rung and “murder” at the very top. He filled it in with other things, ways we sin and hurt others in varying intensity. And we talked about how we like to rate our sin. We like to say that my sin isn’t as bad as that sin. But on the other side of the page he drew the word God at the top and the word sin at the bottom. Telling the kids that to God, sin was sin. Then he drew a cross extending the entire page and we talked about how Jesus’ death on the cross covered our sins.

It was powerful.

Look I probably sound like a broken record because I say this time and time again. I don’t know that I can fully grasp the unconditional love and forgiveness that God has offered to me. The weightiness of it, especially during this season is ever present. I am more aware of my own sinfulness and the incredible gift of forgiveness that God has offered to me.

So as we enter into the next few days, let us reflect on what God has done for us. If there are things we need to repent for, be swift about it. If there are things we need to be forgiving of, for the sake of our hearts, let us try with God’s help and example to be forgiving. The body of Jesus was broken beyond recognition for us, let us not forget that sacrifice. May the overwhelming nature of that gift draw us ever closer to seeking to know God more.

I Want to Be…..

I have a quiet morning here at the office. Dominic is travelling out of town for the day and while I have a mountain of work that needs to be done, I wanted to take a moment to share how God has been moving in my heart.

I had a rare opportunity to make a short trip to Sioux Falls (my old hometown and the neighboring “big city”) on Sunday afternoon. I had several returns that I needed to make that I didn’t want to mail back and I wanted to make a run to Costco. We don’t get there often, but when we do we stock up on all the things. Since we had the threat (now likelihood) of an impending blizzard in the forecast, a supply run seemed appropriate.

I love time in the car alone by myself. I can crank up the music and sing LOUD. I don’t have a lot of time in the car without kids to do that and so these trips always feel like a gift to me.

Earlier that day one of our VBS coordinators from church had given me the CD with all the newest songs. I help lead the music and dancing portion of the evening during VBS and it is one of the highlights of my summer. It brings me SO MUCH JOY! I am NOT a dancer by nature. Erin (an actual dancer) creates all the moves and then about a week or so before VBS starts she teaches me and I do my best. But I find it easiest to get the dance moves down when I already have the lyrics memorized.

So I figured that my car time was the perfect time to rock out to some Roar VBS tunes! The music is so fun this year. The theme is “Life is Wild, God is Good.” And all of the music speaks to that message. Life can be hard and crazy and ever changing but God is good and He is present and always there for us.

Each year it seems like the music, the themes in our VBS lessons meet MY spirit in a way that I need so deeply. Last year our theme was Shipwrecked and the idea that God was our rescue. 2018 was a hard year for several reasons and especially in the late spring, early summer. As much joy as that week of VBS brought me, I found myself almost in tears over the worship music. Crying out to God to rescue me. Be my strength Lord because I can’t do this on my own…

And as I was listening to the music for this year I realized that it was such a celebration of God’s goodness. One of the songs is called Thankful. The lyrics spoke to me and described exactly how I want to live my life.

“I like to think about the goodness of the Lord. He gives me everything I need and so much more. And I just want to life my hands, and say that I love him, I just want to lift my heart in praise. I want to be thankful, I want to be grateful. I want to remember everything that the Lord has done. I want to be thankful, I want to be grateful, I want to be, I want to be, I want to be….”

This season we are in right now, while so very busy and filled with its own challenges, is a gift. I am SO very grateful for all the things God has done in and through me and for my family. I know the heartache we were experiencing a year ago and praise God for His faithfulness as He walked us through that season.

I just don’t want to forget. Because I know that be it another year, or two, maybe even a month or two from now we could be walking through another difficult season. (It is inevitable…we live in a fallen world) And God’s goodness WILL still remain. Yes there are times that we may only be able to cry out for rescue, but God is there and He is faithful. And in those times of great struggle we need to remember everything the Lord has done.

And sharing our stories of hope can be an encouragement to someone else who is hurting. Knowing that we are not alone in this journey is comforting, so that is one reason I feel called to write here….I want you to know that I understand the overwhelming darkness but have also danced in the light of God’s goodness. One thing that I know for sure is that God continues to supply me with everything I need and even in the darkest of times, His peace is felt.

Take some time today and make a list of all the ways God has been faithful to you. Write them down, keep them in a place that you can see them so you won’t forget. So in those dark moments you can cling to the reminder that God has been faithful, He has redeemed your broken places and trust that He will again.

I want to be thankful.

I want to be grateful.

I want to be…..