Forgiveness!

  So I am the mom of two children. A boy who is 5 years old and a girl who is 3 years old. My 5 year old was born practically running. He is a bundle of energy and keeps me on my toes. One goal in parenting that I have is to help my children to think through their decisions. So instead of just disciplining and moving on I tend to make my children tell me why they chose to do what they did and help them to think of ways to not do it again. So the other day my son comes home from school and we are sitting at the table having a snack when he tells me that he got in trouble at lunchtime. "Oh yeah", I say, "what happened?" He tells me that a boy in his class dared him to throw a straw on the floor and apparently one of the teachers caught him doing just that and made him sit at a table by himself. He then told me about his plan to get even with the boy who dared him. In my head I thought isn't that how we all are. Someone has wronged us and we are going to get even. They need to learn their lesson after all! I, of course, did not tell him to do that. Instead we talked about how in life their are always people who want to get the other person in trouble and so when we are dared to do something we need to stop and think if doing it is a good idea or not. As an almost 33 year old woman I struggle with this some many times. I want to lash back at those who hurt me. I want them to come crying to me for forgiveness ( a little vicious, I know! But it is the truth). And yet  I have to take it to God and say I am just as evil as they are. I hurt others and I am not better than the one who hurt me. I have to choose to forgive and it is not always easy. It takes me a long time to forget the wrongs done to me and so therefore I have to go to God a lot and ask Him to help me forgive.