I’m the mom she forgave.
She left it on my Facebook wall as a comment.
The status update was a link to The Unburdened Heart, and several friends had commented that they were reading it, or sharing their thoughts on their journey of forgiving.
As I read my mom’s comment, I had to respond.
No, mom. You are the mom I love.
There was a time when you were the mom I forgave, but for a long time you have been the woman who is my friend. The mom I call when I need someone to pray for me.
The mom who really wants me to wear a coat when it’s just a bit nippy outside.
You are my mom I talk to several times a week. The mom who is courageous as your sight dims. You are the mom whose laugh delights me.
You are the mom who carries my books with her to give to others who feel like you once did, and who says, “This is our book. It shows what God did for me and my Suzie”.
I love that, mom.
When I teach Pushing Past Your Past I often share that our past can be like a tattered piece of luggage, handed down from generation to generation. It was a legacy handed to you, and it gave you little to hand down.
You unpacked that legacy later in life. You listened to the hard stories. You said you were sorry. You loved your children though they struggled to forgive. You keep your heart open for those who still struggle.
Yes, you were the mom I forgave — long before you forgave yourself. But watching you grow has been a beautiful thing.
Thank you for a legacy that says it’s never too late to grow past your hurts. Thank you for a legacy of courage to tell our story, though it’s so painful in parts.
Who has impacted your faith? Perhaps a friend, sister, your mother or grandmother, a mentor or pastor’s wife?
I loved this post today – it really hit home as I wish my mom would read it…in the post you referenced your teaching Pushing Past the Past…is this a book you’ve written? I am stuck in this place of wanting to push past but not able to get all the way through and would love something to read that might help!
My mom went home to God 8 years ago. She forgave me, long before I forgave myself. When I look in the mirror, when I speak, when I cook, when I walk and talk, I am so like her. She left me with some very good things, a lot of scripture verses and Bible stories learned by heart, a lot of hymns in my head and heart, but she also had her faults. Faults are something we all have. She did her best. She loved God. She shared her faith with family and gave to support God’s work, sacrificially. She was not perfect, but what she left me was a lot of great memories of listening, praying, and not giving up on me. I had the privilege of sitting with her as she left this body for her new home. I was singing Amazing Grace…..so appropriate…for we were both recipients of God’s grace and that was enough, is enough.
Such awesome words of forgiveness and healing.