Today I woke up thinking about forgiveness,
possibly because this is an important week for me and probably because
this story seared such an imprint on my heart yesterday. A fire fighter falls asleep at the wheel after a long day's work and he crosses the center line, colliding with and killing a young mom and her unborn baby boy. How does her husband go on, much less forgive?
The journey of faith, forgiveness, and friendship between these two men who met by accident under what would seem like unforgivable circumstances will at once astound and inspire you. I find myself so, so grateful that they so willingly and candidly shared it.
Forgiveness is one of those rare things that ends up being as much of a gift to you as to the person you gave it to. Anger, disappointment, sadness, resentment ... those things all try to talk us into holding on to that grudge and saying "No, I won't forgive them. They don't deserve it." We might even think, "Why bother to forgive them? It won't change what happened."
And guess what? Both of those things might very well be true. But at the end of the day, what do we deserve, really? And while forgiveness can't change what happened, it can totally change what will happen. In both lives. Try it and see.
But don't let forgiveness and accountability blur in your mind. We can forgive and still hold people accountable for their choices. That's the idea behind restorative justice. While we may not be able to change what happened, we must always accept responsibility and make amends as we work toward restitution and restoration.
Need some forgiveness ideas?
this story seared such an imprint on my heart yesterday. A fire fighter falls asleep at the wheel after a long day's work and he crosses the center line, colliding with and killing a young mom and her unborn baby boy. How does her husband go on, much less forgive?
The journey of faith, forgiveness, and friendship between these two men who met by accident under what would seem like unforgivable circumstances will at once astound and inspire you. I find myself so, so grateful that they so willingly and candidly shared it.
Forgiveness is one of those rare things that ends up being as much of a gift to you as to the person you gave it to. Anger, disappointment, sadness, resentment ... those things all try to talk us into holding on to that grudge and saying "No, I won't forgive them. They don't deserve it." We might even think, "Why bother to forgive them? It won't change what happened."
And guess what? Both of those things might very well be true. But at the end of the day, what do we deserve, really? And while forgiveness can't change what happened, it can totally change what will happen. In both lives. Try it and see.
But don't let forgiveness and accountability blur in your mind. We can forgive and still hold people accountable for their choices. That's the idea behind restorative justice. While we may not be able to change what happened, we must always accept responsibility and make amends as we work toward restitution and restoration.
Need some forgiveness ideas?
Click {here} for the Potato Sack metaphor.
Click {here} for games from Creative Youth Ideas.
Click {here} for my PPBF review of The Forgiveness Garden.
Click {here} for games from Creative Youth Ideas.
Click {here} for my PPBF review of The Forgiveness Garden.
Wow!
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