A Spacious Way to Live

Today, I am deeply grateful for those of you who have supported the Dial Hope Foundation with a financial donation. Hope reaches others because of you. Thank you!

There’s an apocryphal story about an old married couple. The wife said, "Why do you keep talking about the mistakes which I made in the past? I thought you had forgiven me?" The husband replied, "I have forgiven you; I just wanted to make certain that you don't forget that I have forgiven you!”

That’s funny! But it’s not really forgiveness, is it? It’s bookkeeping. Keeping track and holding on to the past mistakes and failures of others will only weigh us down. There is no way to heal and move on unless we truly let go.

Writing about God’s forgiveness of us, God’s love for us, and our ability to share those same gifts with others, Franciscan theologian Richard Rohr puts it this way: “I really cannot imagine a larger and more spacious way to live… Forgiveness might just be the very best description of what God’s goodness engenders in humanity…”

May you come to see the ability to forgive and let go as a gift. It is not so much about the other person. It is a gift to yourself!

Let us pray: We remember today, O God, that you have forgiven us, and that there is nothing we could ever do to separate ourselves from your love in Christ. We turn over to you now those events of the past that have hurt us… We turn over the people who have wronged us… Even still, we know that there are some people who might continue to hurt us. In those cases, give us the courage to ask for help if we need it and to keep strong boundaries, and then to let go. As we forgive, as we let go, may we experience a lightness and your healing grace. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.