My daughter, two-year old granddaughter and I went to a park recently.  It was a lovely day and little Miss Energy was dashing around eagerly looking at flowers, bugs, and her personal favorite, rocks.  In the midst of her half-running, half-prancing dance through the park, she tripped, fell, and rolled over.  I think she was mostly shocked, definitely covered in dirt and pine needles, and possibly a little hurt.  She reacted as you might expect – with great sobs and the proverbial crocodile tears.

Both the mommy and grandma rushed to her to make sure she was ok, we didn’t see any blood and the outside damage was minimal, confined mostly to the elements which stuck to her clothes after her roll on the ground.  We were there to assess the damage and comfort her—and then encourage her to shake it off and keep going!

I have been thinking about that a bit lately—the concept of “shaking it off and keep going”.  Life is full of “boo-boos” and hurts and it seems like our human nature likes to shelter, cover, protect, exaggerate, nurture our wounds rather than taking the necessary steps to clean them and continue on our frolic through life.  It is so much easier to focus on the scrapes and bruises rather than shaking them off and moving on!

The problem is that life is full of bruises and infractions against our personal boundaries or convenience.  Words spoken, actions taken or not taken, laundry not folded, towels not picked up, changing lanes without signaling, taking my parking place, singing too loudly, forgetting to stop at the store for something—minor offenses or major, life-altering actions that, in our very fragile humanity seem beyond any reasonable hope of “shaking off”.

At the very heart of God’s love is His forgiveness—Jesus’ dying words on the cross were, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).  Just as we get to live in His forgiveness, it is our responsibility to forgive others.  The problem I experience is that my sinful nature is so easily offended by the words or actions of others.  I don’t hold grudges—God has graciously delivered me from doing that by showing me how much energy it takes to do something so pointless.  However, I certainly jump to judgment or criticism when I see people do things differently than the way I do them or if I think they should do them.

My prayer is to be quicker about shaking off the things I tend to criticize, to be more tolerant, and more gracious as I continue to grow in God’s grace.  I want the words my daughter and granddaughter (as well as my sons and their families) hear me speak to be full of love, forgiveness, humor and joy—I know that the seeds of God’s Spirit I sow into them will continue to be a family blessing throughout generations and communities to come.