"A woman who has not dealt with the hurts in her life and forgiven those who have offended her will have roots of bitterness and anger that will render her ineffective in entering into a nurturing relationship with a younger woman to encourage and equip her to live for God's glory."
Anyone else challenged by this chapter? There were many things I underlined, lots of helpful information, and gobs of truth in this chapter. Some of which made me nod my head in agreement, some of which made me wince a little as it struck home.
One thought that came to mind was this: We forgive others, knowing we have also been forgiven. And part of being aware of our own need for forgiveness involves the practice of confession and asking for forgiveness.
It's not comfortable, but as Jesus said of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, "She who has been forgiven much loves much."
It can be a hard prayer to pray, but asking God to make us more aware of our sin prompts us to confess and seek forgiveness. And the result is loving God more. Which frees us to love others more.
1. What stood out to you in the story of Abigail? Why?
2. Abigail "had to live a life of daily forgiveness to maintain her sanity and her faith" (page 147). How is this true in your own life?
3. In your own words, describe why forgiveness is essential in spiritual mothering.
4. Anything else you want to add?
1. "Abigail's spirit was not bound by her predicament. She was not emotionally paralyzed."
Sometimes I get "emotionally paralyzed" and just don't even WANT to deal with something. But I know it won't go away until I do. A time-out is occasionally helpful, but I can't live there.
I admire Abigail's initiative.
2. I think I need to forgive daily. Mainly in little things. But if we're around people at all, we're going to bump up against in each other in selfish ways, even amongst the best of people.
So to keep our relationships in good working order, we have to keep them greased with forgiveness. I sure hope others do it for me because I definitely need it, especially in my own home.
3. I think Susan Hunt had a great point that we can't help others learn to forgive if we haven't learned it ourselves yet.
4. My summary of chapter 10 is here:
http://lisanotes.blogspot.com/2009/12/forgivers-encourage-forgiveness-ch-10.html
"She was a forgiven woman; thus she was freed to be a forgiving woman." That statement summarized it best for me. Now to go live it...
Posted by: Lisa notes... | December 08, 2009 at 10:10 AM