Deep breath….I think I’ve written and erased this post a thousand times….. Should I even post it??
Take #1,001……
At first read it was a bit of a no brainer….”no kidding, we all know that we can’t keep lies up forever….eventually the truth comes out.” Then I thought about it a little more………..
It doesn’t say “your sins will BE found out”…….It says “your sins will find YOU out”. WHOA!!!! That hit me hard! Think about that for a minute…… I’m the first to say that I’ve sinned a time or two lot in my life (little and big). We all sin! Everyday! Some of my sins may never BE found out, but they all will find ME!
I’m divorced….divorce is a sin. God hates divorce (and all of the sins leading to it)! But, I’m okay! There is grace! There is repentance and forgiveness! Is the process easy? HECK NO!!! God’s forgiveness is NOT a free pass! Forgiveness is HARD! Not because God makes it hard, but because WE make it hard. Actually, God’s forgiveness is the easiest part! Forgiving ourselves and others is what is the hard part!
MY sin found ME! It found me later than I expected. There was a delay, it snuck up on me and knocked me down! I’m glad it did. I had been thinking all was good. God had forgiven me and that’s all I needed…..WRONG! I needed to forgive myself and forgive others. That is H.A.R.D.
I’ve worked the process of forgiving myself. I’m at peace. I’ve apologized. For some things, I will NEVER hopefully someday will be forgiven by others. I’ve done my part. I’ve done all that I can do. Not getting forgiveness back can make forgiving myself hard. It’s not on ME anymore! It’s in THEIR hands.
The other side of the coin is forgiving others. I may not always get an apology. They may not be sorry or may not even think they have done anything wrong. That’s okay! I don’t need an apology. I forgive! I have to! Holding onto anger only hurts me. If God can forgive, so can I! And I’m happier and at peace knowing that I forgive ALL!
Let me be clear…..Forgiveness DOES NOT erase sin. It still happened. There are consequences of our sin that we cannot change. For example, Kids traveling back and forth from one house to another is something I cannot change. I CAN make the best of it. I cannot change a speeding ticket. I still have to pay the fine. My insurance may go up…… I could go on. The point is, our lives are filled with sin/right choices/wrong choices/learning experiences/consequences. We can dwell on it OR we can forgive, learn, and move on. We can’t change the past or the results of the past, but we can shape the future based on our experiences.
I’m sure there will be another post to follow at some point. I hope that in sharing my life experiences/consequences, I can also help others that may be struggling withe the same things I am.
***Disclaimer: this post is not in reference to any specific event or people. I use my divorce as an example of just ONE o the many situations in my life.***
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Thanks for sharing. I’m divorced too. I know God forgives but forgiving one’s self is much, much more difficult. I’m a work in progress… Thanks to God.