“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12, New American Standard Bible
As most of you know from my life with Alyssa blog, I recently put Alyssa in a Mother’s Morning Out program. And to my utter dismay, one of the moms dropped off her sick child. Needless to say, Alyssa, another child, the child’s mom and now my husband (who never gets sick) have caught this horrible cold! Ugh! I will admit that for several hours in the wee morning, I plotted and planned how I would handle this matter. Of course, these “plans” were not how Jesus would want me to handle them. My “fleshly” thoughts only led me to become even more outraged and unbeknownst to me at the time, I had fallen for an old, but familiar trap: THE TRAP OF OFFENSE.
The trap of offense will ruin your day and even your life if you let it seep in! Holding onto offenses and becoming bitter will leave you physically and emotionally exhausted. Once I realized that offense was trying to enter my mind, I knew I had a choice to make. It was a choice of life or death. I decided to extend forgiveness and I instantly felt better. A renewed strength filled my tired body as I chose the higher road and let go of offense!
The truth is we cannot control others, but we can control our lives and the choices that we make. With this in mind, let’s choose to forgive and not be bitter. Let’s choose to not judge, less we be judged. Let’s choose to love and not hate. Let’s choose to bless and not curse. Let’s choose to be the best that we can be. And I (Tracy) choose to practice the golden rule of “doing unto others as I would want done unto myself,” by never placing Alyssa in childcare of any kind while she is sick.
Prayer:
“Lord, I choose to forgive those who have hurt me or my family. I ask that you bless those who have cursed me. I extend forgiveness not only because it is Your will, but I also need forgiveness extended to me. I ask that Your love and grace fill my mind, body and spirit right now. Give me supernatural energy and ability to be the best that I can be for myself and my family. Thank you Jesus for forgiving me of all my sins. Amen.”
Point to ponder: Forgiveness is not based on a feeling, it is a choice.
Image above is from: www.freefoto.com
One thing about life, Trac…..everyday we have the choice of soaring with the eagles or flocking with the turkeys. Eagles soar so high above the ground that they are not affected by the “trash” in the air. Their vision is so amazingly sharp that they can see the smallest things from miles away! By choosing to forgive, we choose to soar. By soaring, we can see and recognize when the enemy is laying a trap. ABOVE IT ALL….that’s definetly where we should stay. Thank you for the reminder!! You’re words are always refreshing and encouraging!!!
Tracy, excellent post! Forgiving others frees us.
Amen and Amen and Amen! We have a choice with what we do! I had to put this into practice just the other day. It was so reassuring to have the Spirit speak Truth over me as I didn’t give in to the insults hurled my way and then as He told me to bless the guy who was hurling them, and to pray for him and his salvation. Immediately blessing those who offend is a wonderful way to make sure that bitterness doesn’t sink in. Thanks so much for posting this- a great reminder of our choice!!! 🙂 Love you and miss you. I’d love to see you too… Feel free to take a family trip to Cali- you always have a place to stay!