Perdón?

Our Tuesday ladies bible class began today. The subject: Forgiveness. I believe it is one common trait that all of humanity struggles with, to give and to receive. This illustration was used and I thought I would share.

We were to each bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. For every person we'd struggled or refused to forgive in our life, we were told to choose a potato, write the name and date on it and put it in the bag. Some of our bags, as you can imagine were quite heavy.

Then we were told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying around spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.

Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated in to a nasty slime. This was another great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity!

Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to another person, and while that's true, it clearly is also a gift to ourselves.

Mark Twain has a great quote: Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it.

So next time you decide you can't forgive someone, ask yourself - Would I rather have the fragrance of the violet or a slimy bag of potatoes!?