Today was the Shelton Christmas parade..yesterday, our friend Melody called and asked Emily if Tillie would play Baby Jesus in the parade, and if Emily would be Mary..I got a kick out of that, but after thinking about it, it seems like an incredible honor to portray our Lord...even if it's a girl baby in the role..I also have had some thoughts wandering through my head on forgiveness..I saw a book in a catalog that talked about forgiveness as a choice..I have to think this through some more..so, when I do..I'll post more.. (If you're wondering why Emily is laughing, she's laughing at me, trying to keep up with the truck pulling the float while I was trying to take the picture.)
3 comments:
This is great! What fun for Emily & Tillie to be the center of the parade, & indeed, of the Christmas season! I bet it was chilly!
Thanks for taking the photos & posting about it--I do love blogging for staying in touch & sharing events!
My own thoughts on forgiveness:
The hardest part for me has always been forgiving myself. Even knowing that forgiveness from God is forthcoming before even asking, I continually request forgiveness, when ultimately it is not God's forgiveness that I need (as it has already been given), but the faith to accept & forgive myself. To realize my own imperfections & weaknesses, & then to continually strive to be a better person; more Christ-like in his own example of grace, love, sacrafice, & finally, forgiveness.
I know what you mean about forgiving ourselves..that's the hard part..but I have learned a lot about God's grace since leaving our old church here in Shelton..So much of what church demands of us is performance oriented..but what Jesus wants is relationship. Out of that relationship comes deeds, but when we do the deeds and what I'm thinking of by deeds in this sense is, praying, reading our Bible, doing, doing, doing..etc..that's not what He wants..at least that's not what he wants in place of a relationship with Him..
I guess what I've been thinking about is the act of forgiveness..I can't mention names here for obvious reasons..but when we forgive, it's not usually for the benefit of the person we are forgiving, or asking others for their forgiveness..rather, just the act of forgiveness frees us from resentment, bitterness, etc...it's the act of obedience..Chances are when we ask others for forgiveness they might tell us to take a flying leap!! That doesn't matter..we did what was right..Someone I was talking to recently didn't want to go thru something because of anger issues toward a person..who is dead!! But, I understand when there has been a lot of hurt..But I also understand that if we step out in faith, God will handle the rest..Have you heard of Corrie Ten Boom?? She wrote the book "The Hiding Place." Also, "Tramp for the Lord." In one of the books she talks about after her ordeal during the holocaust, she was on a speaking tour. A gentleman came up to her and he was one of the guards in the concentration camp she was in..a pretty mean and nasty guard at that..anyway, he came to hear her speak..he'd become a Christian. He came up to her to ask for her forgiveness and she said it was real hard, but when he offered his hand, she took it..as soon as she did, she was filled with forgiveness toward the man..I think that's an awesome story! Anyway..I rambled a lot..
How funny that you mentioned Corrie Ten Boom. My co-worker was just talking about her story & said the film was very moving.
There definitely is a lot to be said about forgiving others, not just because it's the good & right thing to do, but also because we free ourselves from anger & resentment that clouds our hearts.
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