The greatest display of Love is the Gift of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to wash away our sins and resurrected so that we may receive salvation. Through Love God has done so many things in our lives. Share your testimony on Gods love for you and how it has changed your life. Shine your light so that the whole world knows your testimony. Encourage others who are seeking Gods love, be a blessing and share your testimony.
I made up my mind – I wasn’t going to forgive my mother-in-law anymore! Every time I forgave her, she would do something mean and small again. I was just sick of trying to do the right thing. Wasn’t there something about the other person being sorry for being so hurtful and mean-spirited before you actually had to forgive them?
But no matter how I twisted and turned my arguments to justify myself, I felt an increasing sense of discomfort. Unresolved grudges are like “the little foxes that eat the vine,” gradually causing a schism that deteriorates our relationship with God. I became aware of this separation, while I stubbornly continued to struggle with anger and bitterness. In the meanwhile, praying was a chore and my spiritual life seemed dead.
One day while I was sitting at the kitchen table thinking about my mother-in-law and how much I really disliked her, the thought of forgiving her passed through my mind. I decided that I wouldn’t forgive her. No, not again! In fact, I was sure I had no desire or reason to forgive her. At once, I had a clear impression in my mind of the Lord saying, “That’s your sin and you need to repent. It is not that you don’t “feel” like forgiving her, but that you don’t even want Me to give you the ability to forgive her. Your emotions aren’t the problem, your heart is. Your willingness to forgive is necessary first.” I realized then that true forgiveness is an act of the will, not an emotional choice.
I was deeply convicted and asked God for His forgiveness. Amazingly, my decision to let go of the hard feelings and resentment towards Mom immediately began to change my negative attitude towards her. A couple of weeks later, on Mother’s Day, after the church service, my youngest daughter asked if we could visit Granny on our way home. I had not seen Mom for weeks and didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I needed to make this effort.
To my surprise, not only was Mom very happy to see us, but she gave me a Mother’s Day card with money in it and sent us back to the house with cash gifts for both of her granddaughters as well as for her son.
From that time on my relationship with Mom continued to improve, and eventually grew into a deep and sincere love that was mutually affectionate.