May 8

I had an epiphany this afternoon and thought I'd share it.

Without going into details (because there's no good sense in rehashing bad feelings), I'll say that I had a negative interaction with an acquaintance today. She was unkind for reasons I don't fully understand, and I really struggled with understanding exactly what it was that I did wrong enough to justify that nasty words that she sent my way. (I'll share later, Abby.)

As I reflected on the exchange, I found myself reciting the Lord's Prayer. The epiphany hit when I got to the part I've circled in red: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." 

"And forgive us our debts AS WE FORGIVE our debtors."

It's not forgive us MORE THAN we forgive our debtors; it's forgive us AS we forgive our debtors. The takeaway? We have to forgive, and we have to forgive BIG. If we want to be forgiven, we have to forgive everything. So I took a deep breath and forgave my acquaintance.

It was startling to finally understand the gravity of those words, but I'm glad that I do. It's not always easy to forgive, especially when we're feeling hurt or frustrated, but it's always the right thing to do. It's a total cliche, but the act of forgiving someone --regardless of whether or not that person is contrite-- brings the forgiver peace. And for that truth, I am grateful, because it sucks to live life chained to anger.