Monday, April 7, 2014

#AtoZChallenge - Proverbs 31 and Forgiveness



Forgiving - to cease to feel resentment against.

~~~oOo~~~


11)  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Who among us has not needed to forgive at some point?  Who among us has not needed to be forgiven at some point? *cricket* *cricket*  In a perfect world, the word forgive would probably not even be in the dictionary.  But the world we live in is far from perfect, hence the need for forgiveness.

When someone wrongs us, it is human nature to feel resentment.  Muscles stiffen, nerves stretch thin, and this insidious disease surrounds our soul and begins to cut off our air supply.  If the person who has wronged us is repentant, then our forgiveness helps restore them (think of the prodigal son).  If the person is not repentant, forgiving them anyway helps us move on.

Maybe that person does not deserve our forgiveness.  I can think of a few situations I would find nearly impossible to forgive.  I like to think I would try anyway.  I would be a frightful hypocrite if I were to deny forgiveness to someone and then seek it for myself.

(I'm not speaking here of wrongs that involve personal safety or the safety of those in our care.  Get away from the situation, for only then can your healing begin.)

12)  She will do him good and not harm all the days of her life.

Sometimes it is us who need to be forgiven.  Seeking forgiveness is not comfortable, but being worthy of forgiveness and/or receiving forgiveness is like a great weight taken off our chests.  When we injure someone, we ourselves are injured.  We become less than we could be.

Of course, it would be better if we didn't need forgiving in the first place.  But again, no one is perfect.  At some point it is going to happen.  Better to know now how to go about fixing what is broken.  But the good thing about all this is, no matter what part of our journey we are on (good or...not so good), we are loved.

Please share what you think of forgiveness given or received (or both!) in the comments?  Thank you so much!

~~~oOo~~~

(thanks to Jeremy @ Being Retro for the original button design, to dictionary.com for the definitions, and to picmonkey.com for the ability to customize the graphics.)

Also linking at:


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15 comments:

  1. While I am kind of quick at forgiving, but forgetting is very hard. I have realized that for our own mental peace, we must forget somethings definitely! And yes, there are so many times, when I need (ed) forgiveness too and am (was) forgiven.

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  2. Forgiving is never easy. But one should try and forgive for one's peace of mind. Nice post

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  3. Very important concept...forgiveness makes OUR lives better, even if the person we forgive never knows about it.

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    1. Excellent observation, Teresa! Who needs all that noise anyway, right?

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  4. A beautiful proverb, excellent advice.
    Forgiveness is also like preventive medicine.
    "Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many"
    .Hebrews 12:15
    No matter the wrong doing if forgiveness doesn't follow, the body (personal or corporate) will be diseased.
    Smiles for your day!!!

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    1. I did smile, Moonie, thank you so much! And I appreciate the verse from Hebrews. Also very true.

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  5. Beautiful post. Very true, and it can be hard to do. But forgiveness eases our heart.

    Carrie-Anne at That Dizzy Chick

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    1. Wonderful observation, Carrie-Anne. And whose heart couldn't use a little ease. :O)

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  6. A good post. Thank you for sharing!
    I have learned that forgiveness is a process that I must, with God's help, keep walking through at times.
    Regards and Blessings
    Jim

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Jim! I was worried not many gentlemen would visit, since the whole "Proverbs 31 Women" thing. That's what I started out with for a theme, but then I realized the principles apply to everybody!

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  7. Forgiveness seems to be all over the internet today :D It's a hard thing to master, especially when it comes to forgiving ourselves, but it's important to master it. Great post!
    Guilie @ Life In Dogs

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  8. If we have trouble forgiving, we have trouble moving forward. Other's actions will haunt us, anger us when in fact, they no longer should. Alas, forgiving isn't always easy, but let's us forget what troubled us in the past.

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  9. LuAnn, Forgiveness is a touchy topic with most people, because the moment they think of it, it triggers a bunch of unpleasant memories of situations one would rather not forgive, leave alone forget. But it is this reflection that is the starting point to forgive - by doing so, we're being kind to ourselves. Resentment is not a good thing to harbor as I've realized from time to time. It eats at us from inside, not allowing us to be our best selves.Also, there's the health aspect - stress always leads to health problems that only get worse over time.

    Still, today, while I find it easy to forgive, forgetting is still a challenge. I've learned to embrace that and learn from it, so perhaps I can make better decisions.

    Wonderful post, LuAnn!

    :-)


    Vidya Sury
    Rocking the A to Z Challenge with Team Damyanti
    Grace
    <a href="​http://yourmedguide.com/2014/04/foot-care-for-diabetics.html> Foot care for diabetics </a>

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