A Lesson On Forgiveness

She knelt down and looked into her daughter's eyes and said 'We are going to have to forgive each other. I forgive you for not being as good as you could have been while we were in church and you are going to have to forgive me for pulling you aside and making you sit down beside me. We have to forgive each other, that is just what the preacher said today in his sermon'. With that they hugged and made up and I saw my youngest neice's attitude begin to shift from embarassed and hurt, to happier.

Learning to forgive...it is one of the themes in our children's picture book, Sisters Are From Heaven. Its short and sweet and depicts two sisters hugging and making up and reads 'and if she hurts our feelings, then we'd learn to forgive her'. It is a such a positive reinforcement that is instilled in us as children and we carry forward into our adult lives. Forgiveness is not always easy and even after my sister and her daughter hugged and made up, the little one was not instantly happy. It took a little additional coaxing and gentle persuasion to get her to completely come back around. She went from embarassed and hurt, to stubbornly forgiving, to forgetting it all and loving every second of her day.
Forgiveness is in everyone of us. Sometimes it's buried deep down beneath the hurt and pain, but it is still there. Do not be afraid to spread a bit of it around. You will brighten your and someone else's day!