Forgiveness

Yesterday, my 7 yr old son taught me a very important lesson. I had been working on creating ChorePacks for Zachary and Katelyn, and I was thisclose to being done when both kids bounded into the den to see what I was doing. They were very excited to start doing them and wanted to see "their cards". All at once, they were grabbing and stepping on things and mixing everything up. I could feel the frustration rising up. I just wanted to get it done and then we could go through it. Well, at that moment, Zach stuffed a bunch of cards into the holder and bent them. Not a big deal but I snapped anyway. I raised my voice and said some unkind words. As soon as I said it, I felt bad and he just walked out of the room. Sigh. Again, I let my perfectionism and my frustration get the best of me. I finished and cleaned up what I was doing and decided we all needed to go outside and get some fresh air. A few minutes later, I pulled Zach aside and told him that I was sorry I yelled at him and that he didn't deserve the way I treated him. Before I even finished speaking, he wrapped his arms around me in a big hug. I didn't even care that he was soaking wet from playing in the water, I hugged him back just as tightly and asked if he forgave me. He whispered yes and then bounded away to continue his playing. All was forgiven.

As I thought about that moment, I thought about how freely, how readily Zach forgave me. It was like he had already forgiven me before I even asked. And even before and after I apologized, he didn't have a grudge or a bad attitude. He acted like nothing even happened.

Isn't this just like how God forgives us? He knows when we've screwed up and is just waiting for us to make it right with Him. But as He waits, He is not bitter or mad, and when we do finally come to Him, His forgiveness is given freely and without hesitation. The best part is, He remembers it no more! We can go on as if it never happened. What a release of guilt and a sense of freedom this gives us! What a wonderful gift forgiveness is!

And I have my 7 yr old son to thank for reminding me of this, for challenging me to forgive others the way God forgives us.