So, I decided to join the blog train after months of debating it. I honestly couldn't think of anything that would be interesting about my own personal life that would make people want to know about it! But then I got to thinking, my blog doesn't have to be about me! It can be an outlet for other people to go to! I am hoping that this will become a blog that brings a smile to someone's face, and gives some inspiration that is needed.
This past year has been a very challenging one for me, and sometimes I really just needed something to get my mind of all that was going on and simply smile. I hope that this blog can be that for you!! I have learned that there are good aspects about everything if we just open our eyes enough to see it!
The great thing about this is that there is no specific topic--just random thoughts about what's going on. The good thing about living in Charleston is that you see something strange or different every day, so I promise that I won't be redundant!
Now, onto the goods! I'm in an ethics course this semester with the most interesting professor I've had in a while. He's a certified genius who wears "Jesus sandals" and a hoodie to class, which means he's pretty darn cool. Even though his vocabulary could make anyone feel incompetent, he never runs out of interesting stories to make the class enjoyable. Anywho, we are discussing a book--"The Sunflower"--which is a book about forgiveness. You see, a man, Simon Wiesenthal, who had been suffering in a concentration camp was asked to come speak with a dying German soldier. All this soldier wanted was forgiveness, and for this one Jewish man to forgive him.
Okay, I don't know about you, but I would LOVE to say that I would forgive him on the spot because that is what my faith tells me to do. I do believe, with all my heart, that we are to forgive anyone because we have been forgiven by the grace of God. But, I don't know how easy that would be for me after experiencing the brutality of a concentration camp.
**SPOILER ALERT COMING NEXT**
So, Wiesenthal just walks out of the room without responding to the dying soldier. He just couldn't forgive him because he did not feel that it was his place to forgive this soldier for all that he had done to so many other people. The soldier had never done anything to Wiesenthal personally, so why was he the one who had to do the forgiving? hmmm....made me ponder..
Forgiveness...easier said than done a lot of times. This is my challenge for you today (and for myself!) I can say that I doubt any of us has faced anything like a concentration camp, so why do we find it so hard to forgive the petty things that happen in our lives? I have experienced the beautiful freedom that comes with forgiveness, and I hope that you have as well. If not, take today as an opportunity to try it! Even if the person you need to forgive is yourself!
"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -C.S. Lewis
I hope you are enjoying the fabulous weather outside this weekend!! I know I will be!! :)
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