If you have ever had a puppy you know all about the need for limiting access to certain areas of the house. This was certainly the case for us when we got our new dog several months ago. She kept going to the kitchen and (because she is a large dog) was easily able to snatch things from the kitchen countertops. The best way to prevent this was for us to put up a baby gate to the kitchen. My wife ordered one and I was tasked with installation.
This should have been an easy task.
In order to put it in I had to locate holes to drill where the screws were going to be. Pilot holes were necessary because we needed to screw into the studs in the wall. So I drilled several holes. So far so good. Then it was time to screw the gate to the wall. I got out my trusty nut driver, lined it up with the screw, and pushed the button. The first screw went in about halfway and then refused to go any further. The nut driver kept trying and it only took a few seconds to strip the screw head. Then I was in trouble. What followed was about 2 hours of me trying to get that screw back out of the wall. I tried everything I could think of. What finally got it out was using pliers and painstakingly unscrewing it. My lesson learned that day was to make sure I drill a deep enough pilot hole. It was a mistake that cost me several hours of work.
Life is full of things that should be easy but aren’t. Part of that is because we don’t have a firm grasp on statistics. For example, if you have a series of ten tasks to perform, one right after the other, and each one has a 95% chance of success, what is your overall chance of succeeding? It is actually a little worse than 60%.
Here is a short list of things I have found to be hard when I originally thought they would be easy.
Insurance (any kind)
Canceling a membership
Moving
Folding a fitted sheet
Finding pockets on women’s clothing that actually hold something
Opening a fruit cup without making a mess
And the number one thing I have experienced that should be easy but isn’t? Forgiveness.
You may agree with me on that one. Why is forgiveness so hard? You can do it at any time, and you don’t even need the person who you are forgiving to be present. The bible is pretty big on us doing it
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Matthew 6:14
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Luke 6:37
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Do you see a pattern? Each of these passages talks about a relationship between you forgiving someone and God forgiving you. There are other reasons for forgiving someone though. A lot of research has been done on this. Several studies show that the act of forgiveness helps with mental and physical health. The reverse is also true. Not forgiving someone correlates with things like low self-esteem and negative self-worth, and even depression. Another reason for forgiving is to resolve conflict in your life. You release a burden you have been carrying when you forgive.
Forgiveness sounds like an easy act, but it isn’t. Still the benefits are enormous to your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Forgiveness frees you from the attachment to the negative thing done to you. It may not help the person who wronged you, but it certainly helps you.
Do the hard thing. Forgive.
God Bless