Sometimes the perfect blog topic falls right into my lap. ;) A friend posed this question yesterday: "What if your identity, your existence was defined by the worst thing you ever did?"
I love this question because it not only made me think about how *I* would feel, but also how I handle other people's past mistakes. In my 37 years of life, I have done some pretty despicable things. If I were to be judged only on the worst thing I ever did, I just don't know if I could live with myself. There would be no chance for redemption. Of course, what one person saw as the worst thing I ever did may be totally different than what someone else saw as my worst thing, so I'd be going through life with all of this ugliness hanging over my head, branding me a big loser to everyone I knew! I can only imagine the things I'd be branded with. I shudder just thinking about it.
What about you? If you were defined by the worst thing you ever did, how would you feel? Is it something that you could deal with, or is it something that would eat you up inside? Is it something you could brush off or something you would spend the rest of your life trying to get out from under?
Jesus told St. Faustina (my beloved confirmation saint, by the way!), "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” How thankful I am that no matter how awful my past is, no matter what the worst thing is that I have done, I can be forgiven. The only one whose opinion of me truly matters is God's. Granted, in this earthly life, I'd love to have everyone I've ever hurt or everyone who's been a victim of my past mistakes to forgive me, but even if that doesn't happen, I can find solace in God's mercy and forgiveness.
As our Blessed Savior was dying on the cross, one of the things He said was,"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34) Stop and ponder that statement for a moment. After He had been subjected to all forms of cruel torture and the nails were hammered into His flesh, Christ asked God to forgive the ones who did it AND to forgive US because it was our sins that pierced his flesh with those nails. How do we handle forgiving those who hurt us? How often do we leave the past in the past? Speaking for myself, it's sometimes very hard. We equate holding a grudge against someone with having power over them. We can pull up their past and use it to hurt them. What does that say about us? Does that not make us even lower than whatever they did? Just something to think about.
Praying that today God touches my heart and really helps me to forgive those who have hurt me or caused me grief in the past so that I, too, may be forgiven by Him for things I may have done to others.
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Wednesday, June 05, 2013
The Worst Thing You Ever Did
Sometimes the perfect blog topic falls right into my lap. ;) A friend posed this question yesterday: "What if your identity, your existence was defined by the worst thing you ever did?"
I love this question because it not only made me think about how *I* would feel, but also how I handle other people's past mistakes. In my 37 years of life, I have done some pretty despicable things. If I were to be judged only on the worst thing I ever did, I just don't know if I could live with myself. There would be no chance for redemption. Of course, what one person saw as the worst thing I ever did may be totally different than what someone else saw as my worst thing, so I'd be going through life with all of this ugliness hanging over my head, branding me a big loser to everyone I knew! I can only imagine the things I'd be branded with. I shudder just thinking about it.
What about you? If you were defined by the worst thing you ever did, how would you feel? Is it something that you could deal with, or is it something that would eat you up inside? Is it something you could brush off or something you would spend the rest of your life trying to get out from under?
Jesus told St. Faustina (my beloved confirmation saint, by the way!), "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” How thankful I am that no matter how awful my past is, no matter what the worst thing is that I have done, I can be forgiven. The only one whose opinion of me truly matters is God's. Granted, in this earthly life, I'd love to have everyone I've ever hurt or everyone who's been a victim of my past mistakes to forgive me, but even if that doesn't happen, I can find solace in God's mercy and forgiveness.
As our Blessed Savior was dying on the cross, one of the things He said was,"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34) Stop and ponder that statement for a moment. After He had been subjected to all forms of cruel torture and the nails were hammered into His flesh, Christ asked God to forgive the ones who did it AND to forgive US because it was our sins that pierced his flesh with those nails. How do we handle forgiving those who hurt us? How often do we leave the past in the past? Speaking for myself, it's sometimes very hard. We equate holding a grudge against someone with having power over them. We can pull up their past and use it to hurt them. What does that say about us? Does that not make us even lower than whatever they did? Just something to think about.
Praying that today God touches my heart and really helps me to forgive those who have hurt me or caused me grief in the past so that I, too, may be forgiven by Him for things I may have done to others.
I love this question because it not only made me think about how *I* would feel, but also how I handle other people's past mistakes. In my 37 years of life, I have done some pretty despicable things. If I were to be judged only on the worst thing I ever did, I just don't know if I could live with myself. There would be no chance for redemption. Of course, what one person saw as the worst thing I ever did may be totally different than what someone else saw as my worst thing, so I'd be going through life with all of this ugliness hanging over my head, branding me a big loser to everyone I knew! I can only imagine the things I'd be branded with. I shudder just thinking about it.
What about you? If you were defined by the worst thing you ever did, how would you feel? Is it something that you could deal with, or is it something that would eat you up inside? Is it something you could brush off or something you would spend the rest of your life trying to get out from under?
Jesus told St. Faustina (my beloved confirmation saint, by the way!), "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” How thankful I am that no matter how awful my past is, no matter what the worst thing is that I have done, I can be forgiven. The only one whose opinion of me truly matters is God's. Granted, in this earthly life, I'd love to have everyone I've ever hurt or everyone who's been a victim of my past mistakes to forgive me, but even if that doesn't happen, I can find solace in God's mercy and forgiveness.
As our Blessed Savior was dying on the cross, one of the things He said was,"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34) Stop and ponder that statement for a moment. After He had been subjected to all forms of cruel torture and the nails were hammered into His flesh, Christ asked God to forgive the ones who did it AND to forgive US because it was our sins that pierced his flesh with those nails. How do we handle forgiving those who hurt us? How often do we leave the past in the past? Speaking for myself, it's sometimes very hard. We equate holding a grudge against someone with having power over them. We can pull up their past and use it to hurt them. What does that say about us? Does that not make us even lower than whatever they did? Just something to think about.
Praying that today God touches my heart and really helps me to forgive those who have hurt me or caused me grief in the past so that I, too, may be forgiven by Him for things I may have done to others.
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