Forgiveness is Truly a Process

What? Isn’t it one and done? Why does it take more than one thought to forgive?

Because it does.

Willing to forgive is not the same as wanting to forgive. You can be willing but not wanting. The past hurt we’ve endured is often far deeper than forgiveness being a one and done thing. Forgiveness may take several steps, stages, if you will.

We may make a start at forgiving. One forgiving thought a day. Resisting wishing evil or ill on a person for what they did to us is a start. It really is. We can work out one forgiving action a day, however we define it. At the point where we realize not forgiving is hurting us more than it hurts them, we can forgive for real. As long as we learn to pray for those we are trying to forgive, we finally realize we’re able to forgive after all. We’re good. Isn’t that a great feeling?

It wasn’t sudden at all. We’re amazed that the unattainable was accomplished. But not surprised. It was really calculated, measured, and incremental. After all.

Sometimes the things we leave undone are as bad as not doing something we were supposed to do. Isn’t this the same thing? No, not at all. If we need to apologize for wrongdoing, we need to do it. That is a thing left undone. That’s different than not taking our Great Aunt Matilda to Mass on Sunday.

Rather than thinking everyone owes us an apology, we need to know how to make apologies. It’s part of being responsible. Not everyone needs to apologize to us. We need to extend that courtesy around to those we have hurt first before collecting our apologies.

Have a beautiful evening. And make sure to make the most of your day tomorrow. You only get one chance at it, so make it a good one. See you tomorrow!

Fatigue . . .

Makes Cowards of Us All. (Vince Lombardi)

The older I become, the more I believe this. We aren’t made to exist in high gear constantly, then never have any down time. With the stress we face daily, that just adds to it. A lot of our stress is self-created and self-imposed. Some of it isn’t.

If we’re ill, been hospitalized, or had major surgery, it takes time to recuperate and gain our strength again. Every major surgery I’ve had has required every bit of six weeks to recover. When I had the tumor in my spinal column, recovery was over six months, with no data to guide us. It was hard to make time to rest, mentally. Our society doesn’t seem too accepting of people who rest and relax. We often feel guilty.

As Vince Lombardi said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” If a sports team is fatigued, they may doubt their ability and skills. We lose our edge, we miss things, we aren’t as effective as we could be. Now, at the ripe old age of 70, I welcome a nap nearly every day. I need the rest to operate all day long. We’re early risers, and early to bed.

When any of us just can’t take another step, when we want to pull the covers over our heads, when we want to give up, we need to take a break. We need to step back and remember the way of change and improving ourselves is taxing. It is hard. It depletes our energy to learn new things, practice new things, and become all we can be. Change seems to happen uphill, and the steps up are big and intimidating at times. Taking time to regroup, rest, and revive is necessary. It’s as needed as movement and commitment.

Everything is better after a good night’s sleep or even after a nap. Our minds are sharper, our hands steadier, and our outlook happier. We resume command of whatever we’re working at, be it writing a novel, making a quilt, digging a garden. Once things are back in perspective, we see things aren’t all doom and gloom again.

I’ve got a bit of a cold, and am trying to get extra rest. Looking forward to piling into bed, dogs, hubby, and Nyquil should do me nicely until morning. Hoping to kick the cold to the curb and not have it get worse. The weather has turned quite cold, and we’ve had temps in the 20s overnight. Still haven’t turned on the furnace yet. It should get a lot warmer for a few days. The dance between fall and winter continues!

Have a beautiful rest of the evening, stay warm, and we’ll see each other tomorrow. Let’s get to #1000followers! We hope this happens soon! Share, and help a girl out! Thank you.