This past Halloween, a friend of mine had experienced a wrong done to him by his mother-in-law. She told him that he didn't treat his daughter like his sons, that he favored them. He confided in me and was quite angry by it. He also told me that his daughter wasn't interested in the same things as his sons, but he tried his best. I asked him what his daughter's interests were and for the next five minutes his face lit up as he told me all about it.
I told him what I observed. He was astonished that he was quite proud of his daughter. He would do anything for her.
I also told him to forgive his mother-in-law. He couldn't do it. But, as Thanksgiving loomed closer and closer, he forgave her and invited the in-laws for Thanksgiving at their house.
During by college years at Bemidji State University, I was involved in the InterVarsity campus ministry. This was where I was first exposed to a wider audience of Christianity--I grew up in a small town and was confirmed in a small Lutheran church. During my second year with InterVarsity, I was ignored at most of the meetings (with the exception of our small group Bible studies) and I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I held on to this anger for many, many years. I knew it wasn't God doing this. It was the people running it. This past fall, I forgave them. I no longer held any animosity toward them. I prayed for their ignorance, prayed no one else would ever feel that way, and I also prayed for God to train them to better their ways.
Whom do you need to forgive? My long list of people stretches far beyond InterVarsity and I'm doing my best to find as many of those as possible.
Forgive those who wrong you. It's amazing what a peaceful spirit can be felt inside you if you do.
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