DAILY FORGIVENESS

At some point every day my daughter has the opportunity to forgive me. Whether it be because I lose my patience, I misunderstand what she wants or needs, or I just have to move her along to new activities taking her away from something she has enjoyed. There are lots of things I do that frustrate her or upset her a little bit.

Yesterday we were trying to do an activity together but it was just not working. I had to take a step back and just call it quits for the day, and she did not appreciate that decision. I did my best to explain why we could not do what we had been trying to do and how we would try again another time, but it was still hard for her to understand and she was still upset. So we sat together to read some books and the frustration evaporated. She did not hold a grudge against me the rest of the day, we just moved on with vacuuming, throwing balls, and doing puzzles.

This type of true forgiveness is really hard for me and I think the older we get the harder it is. When we are hurt or don't understand the actions of others it can be easy or tempting to just stay angry with the other person. Watching my daughter let go of her little hurts that were so real to her, taught me a powerful message about daily forgiveness. Her ability to forgive allowed us to continue to build our relationship and enjoy being with each other. She is such a sweet example of an important principle.