So just as spring has sprung, a leak has sprung in the Allison household. It was discovered last week and is progressively getting to be more and more a pain in the neck. I had noticed a few weeks ago that one of the tiles in the laundry room was trying to pop up. No big deal. We had actually been discussing replacing some of the flooring in our home. But, then last week I noticed the rug feeling damp. I knew I had not spilled anything. The girls had not been in there. My husband was out of town. What in the world was going on?
So upon further inspection, after my husband got back, we discovered a leak from the washing machine. It was quickly fixed and we assumed the problem was taken care of. A few days went by and we checked to make sure there was not any moisture remaining. Only then did we find that it had not dried and it looked like we now had a bigger problem. To make the rest of this amazingly not so fun story a little shorter...my laundry room is without any flooring at the moment. Yes we had to rip it up over the weekend and we are now waiting for the actual wood to dry out. Thankfully there is not any rotting, but like I said, a pain. (And in case you forgot, our house is on the market...YAY for having to explain this!)
Just a small drip... a tiny bit of water. We are not talking gallons. We are not talking over flowing. It was just a little but frequent drop. And something so small caused so much damage! And it could have been worse! If we had not of caught it when we did, the floor would have rotted and the whole thing would have to replaced. It could have caused complete structural damage...just a little leak!!!!
Yesterday we talked about the little "Oh this won't hurt me" things that can cause us to slip. Well what about those little leaks in our lives...say like with forgiveness and bad attitudes.
"I just can't forgive them. They just hurt me too bad."
"I am so mad at them. I cannot believe they would say any such a thing."
"They don't care about my feelings, why should I care about theirs?"
Those small pains; those little hurts...it can all lead to a much bigger problem. We can form resentment, which can lead to anger, which can lead to not forgiving, which leads to bad attitudes, and we can end up with a hard heart.
Today's verse
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matt 6:14
Think of everything God has forgiven us for. If we are truly His, He has forgiven us for our past sins and our future sins. It makes me shutter to think of the amazing significance of that thought. Yet, it is 100% true; He has forgiven us 100%. It is the least we can do to forgive others who have hurt us.
Peter asks Jesus in Matthew 18:20 how many times we should forgive those that sin against us. Peter thought seven times should be sufficient. But, Jesus' response was "seventy times seven" in verse 21. In other words...we should never stop forgiving. Yes, our feelings get hurt. Yes, it can be so painful when we have been wronged. Yes, it may seem impossible to forgive. But we are instructed to forgive just as God has forgiven us. And we are to remember we can do anything with God's help.
If you have sprung a little leak, and there is a little resentment or unforgiveness in your life right now, ask Jesus to soften your heart and help you forgive. It will feel so good to let go of those feelings before any big damage is done!
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