Recently it really hit me that it is a wonderful thing to ask for forgiveness right away. If you do something that you need to be forgiven for, don’t delay. Do your part to apologize and rectify the situation as soon as you can. That way, you will not have that bad feeling hanging over your head.
I will admit I have been stressed about work lately because we are short one worker, meaning there is extra work to do, and I have vacation time to take. But, somehow I have to get all the work done with working less hours than I had been. There are also several items with certain deadlines to meet.
So, I was at work bright and early on a Monday morning when I got a phone call asking if I was going to take care of some paperwork. It was a day where my tasks were to be all doing one task, namely payroll. Anyway, I felt my blood pressure rising as I was talking with this lady. I could not stop the bad tone or the words that I regretted as soon as I said them.
As soon as I got off the phone, I sent the lady an email apologizing for my bad attitude and basically asking for forgiveness. It just felt like the right thing to do. Much to my surprise, she responded by saying, “No worries.” Her responding that way brought me relief. I did not want to strain our relationship and have to wonder if she was mad at me whenever we interacted.
Photo courtesy of Kerolic under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA/2.0)
Two days later, bright and early the phone rings again, and it is the same lady. So, I think right away, okay, have a good attitude. But, much to my surprise, when I answered, she jokingly says, “Is this grumpy?” It made us both laugh and start the day off right. To this day, it makes me smile when I think about it or when I talk with this lady.
And, it is a great reminder to make something “right” as soon as you can. It is a great relief to release it and be free once again.
“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” –Matthew 6:11-12
This is so true. I think the longer I wait the harder it gets. Thank you for sharing!
Indeed, Mrs. Maiorana! It is much easier to make things “right” right away!
I agree! The Holy Spirit is always gently convicting when we have spoken words in haste. I am so grateful for that. Sad that I still do it, but rejoice knowing God has promised to finish the good work He has started in me!
Yes, it is great that we have the Holy Spirit to convict us, and then we can make it right! You’re not alone, Trish, we all do it…until we reach that goal of being in heaven. Thanks for reading…God bless!
The longer you wait to ask for forgiveness means less of a chance you’ll actually do it. Overwhelming guilt, sadness etc. Doing it right off is the best thing. And Even if the person you offended is 6 or 7 – still say I’m sorry and ask.
I agree, Marie! Great lessons to share even with the young ones! Thanks for reading and the many ways you spread JOY to so many!
Timing is so important in these kinds of things, one moment things may be fine but another moment something may have happened to just make it not the right time to be talking about a certain type of thing. It can be so hard to make up for the quick retort so we need to pray against it.
Yes, you are right, Sandra! Thanks for reading and being such a blessing to me!