forgiveness...what an interesting thing. here's an interesting quote i found out of the manual the Relief Society (group for women in the church ages 18 and older), Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Joseph Smith on page 392:
"One of the most pleasing scenes that can occur on earth, when a sin has been committed by one person against another, is, to forgive that sin; and then according to the sublime and perfect pattern of the Savior, pray to our Father in heaven to forgive [the sinner] also" -originally found in A History of the Church 6:245
i've just been learning lately that not being able to forgive someone is/can be a form of sin, especially after the other person has repented of their issue and has begun/tried to make restitution. as i was reading through the lesson the RS went through on sunday during our meeting, a thought went through my mind that really had me think, and still is.
about early 2006, my next door neighbor peeked in our bathroom window one late evening when i was preparing to take my shower before bedtime. as i sat on our toliet seat taking my socks off before i got in, i looked over at the window and saw his face close to the screen...watching me. i screamed, slammed the window shut, and ran out crying to my mom. we called the police, etc..he was originally on house arrest as part of his sentence from a previous DUI charge in the next county over. however, his parole officer didn't even bother herself to come down to his house, and measure the different distances so his ankle bracelet could be programmed. that's how he was able to come onto our property and peek in on me in the bathroom. the window wasn't even open anymore than 4-5 inches!
ever since then, i've struggled a lot to even begin to forgive him for what he did to me. i'll still a little afraid to go into the bathroom late at night, or even early evening or any other time of day, and still push the window down shut, put a towel over the entire window and OVER the curtain, etc. sometimes i even have to step into the shower completely dressed, undress inside the shower and throw my clothes out by the edge of the tub...
so, that lesson yesterday in RS started making me think again about that. a sister also added to the conversation that she still has trouble forgiving her father for some things he does to her, etc. and it's still a struggle for her. that made me feel almost normal. i know this will be something i'll need to work on until i can forgive this neighbor, and after so long, i'll have to pray to Heavenly Father and just put it in His hands in order to fully move on...
taking one step at a time....all i can do is give my best :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment