In the Corner

Monday, November 17 Psalms 69:30 NIV “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with Thanksgiving.”

Once in a while I get ahold of a very strong and boiling cup of coffee when going through a drive thru. It’s on those rare days where I struggle to be thankful having a cup of coffee to sit down because there is no sleeve.  Later when it cools it will be appreciated, but, not now. 

So it is that before we can be truly thankful, there is a need to humble ourselves. Keep short accounts so we forgive others for whatever ways they may have hurt or harmed us and then move on.

Jesus told us how important this was to forgive others in the New Testament in Luke 17:4, “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying I repent, you must forgive them.”

At our house, we discipline sometimes by placing a grandchild in the corner while babysitting. Our hope is that they will acknowledge they’re sorry for a wrong they have done, and that the other person will say I forgive you and mean it.

Our one-year-old, however, has started putting herself in the corner when she does something she feels is unkind to a sibling.  The grandchild will quietly slip away to the corner. There are times when we wonder why she felt she needed to be in the corner.  Sometimes we are in complete agreement with her. Maybe we need to do the same thing, figuratively, put ourselves in the corner when it comes to offenses and being forgiving. 

We know that holding a grudge leads to bitterness and sin. This sin takes up all the space. I am reminded of “The Christmas Carol” where Ebenezer Scrooge is such a bitter, miserly old man.  After he is forced to look upon his life, he asks for forgiveness and is set free by it. Scrooge is transformed into a joyful, generous, and thankful person.

God  can and will do that for us.

Here's a reflective picture. It's a beautiful picture taken at George Rogers Clark Park by Lynn's husband Larry.