This week, my Aunt Judy passed away unexpectedly. She had been estranged from a lot of her
family for many years, for many different reasons. I was in contact with her through Facebook,
like many of us who live away from our families are nowadays. And while we weren’t super close, I find
myself thinking of her many times throughout each day this week, and feeling
such sadness for her loss. I know that
“family drama” is a sensitive subject, but God has kept placing on my heart
that I needed to share this with you. I
don’t know if it is you who needs to hear it today, or maybe it’s someone you
know, and you can pass it on to them, but I know a few things for sure:
God forgives us, and we are to forgive as he does. Forgive today, whether it is yourself or
someone else. Lift that burden
from your heart and live in peace! When
my son, Brady, died, I had a lot of guilt for many reasons, real and imagined. I had so many “should haves” and “what ifs”
that I was struggling to hold on. On the
one year anniversary of his death, I prayed for God to forgive me for any part
I may have had in his death and God answered my prayer with scripture. “All the prophets testify about him that
everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
(Acts 10:43) God gives us grace to mess
up, make mistakes, hurt others, mistreat ourselves…and we are still loved and
cherished by Him. ALL is forgiven, and you are set free, if you
ask it in His name!
There is no one who is too far, or too broken, to meet our
Maker face to face when they die. We
judge sin based on our human scale of what is right and wrong. To God, sin is sin. While we should be punished for wrongdoings,
we are also entitled, through Jesus, to be forgiven,
because God does that for us. By sending
Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, we are forgiven and saved-to be
cherished and live eternity with God. At
our MOPS meeting last month, our guest speaker was Renee Napier. Her daughter was killed by a drunk driver,
and she forgave him, which allowed her to be set free from the bitterness and
allowed the young man to come to know and love Jesus. Together, they now speak to schools about the
dangers of driving while intoxicated, and who knows how many lives they have
saved! THIS is the way in which we are
to forgive one another.
The other thing I know for sure is that my Aunt Judy is
finally at peace. She had a difficult
life, full of so much pain, and now she is set free of it all. I do not know where she was at on her faith journey, and don't pretend to know all the answers, but God does tell us this: with faith as small as a mustard seed, God’s
hope and peace is ours for eternity! It
makes my heart happy to know that she has gotten to meet our son, Brady, and be
with her parents again. As I was being
flooded with all of these thoughts, the song “Cry Out to Jesus” by
Third Day came on the radio. Their words
ring so true:
“To
everyone who's lost someone they love long before it was their time.
You feel like the days you had were not enough when you said goodbye. And to all of
the people with burdens and pains keeping
you back from your life-You
believe that there's nothing and there is no one who can make it right. There is hope
for the helpless, Rest for the weary, Love for the broken heart. There is grace and forgiveness, Mercy and healing. He'll meet you
wherever you are. Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus.” Give yourself grace and forgive yourself of
any guilt you are carrying. We are
human, and God understands our pain and redeems it all when we join Him in
Heaven.
Matthew 6:14 “For
if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.”
Luke 17:6 “He
replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance
against someone. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you.”
Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
Philippians
4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Luke 6:37-38
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
1 Peter 3:8 “Finally,
all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate
and humble.”
With Love, Cathy
