Asking Forgiveness the Other Side of the Story
By Brenda K. Blakely
The voice at the other end of the line was silent. Here I was asking my Mother to forgive me for being such a difficult child to raise, asking her to forgive me for my anger directed at her and others, to forgive me for bad behavior reflecting my attitude toward adults, forgive me for not accepting her love nor returning it, forgive me for making her life and those around me miserable a lot of the time during my growing up years. It was clear she had no idea of how to proceed.
Our family by the terms of today would be called dysfunctional; I had recognized and forgiven all of this. My Mother had done the best she knew how and/or was able at the time to accomplish.
Being able to forgive her and my Father and then my stepfather was a huge step in setting me free. My reaction to these circumstances had governed my life. It was reflected in everything I thought and did. God showed me that I had to forgive all of this or He would not forgive me of my sins. Once He had helped me to accomplish my being able to forgive, He began to work on the other side of the story.
It was time for me to begin to ask for forgiveness for the pain I had caused. My sinful reaction to the actions of others in my life was controlling my thoughts and actions and was hurting myself and the other people around me, especially those who were very close such as family and friends.
At that time my mother and I were barely on speaking terms even though I had forgiven her. My Father and stepfather had passed away so there was forgiveness on my part but no interactionwas possible with either of them.
The call I made that night and the confessions and request for forgiveness eventually accomplished a loosening of the tension between us, as she was able to say, “I forgive you and please forgive me”.
By God’s grace I had been able to be forgiven and our relationship was restored and set free to enjoy the special relationship of Mother and daughter. More importantly I was now able to experience the fullness of the forgiveness of God(Matthew 6:15)
Word count 412
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