As I have gotten older, I have learned to cherish each moment of every day.  Every part of my life has brought its own struggles and its own rewards.  I would not change anything.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  There are things I don’t want to go through again, but the lessons I have learned are so valuable.  If I could have learned them some other way, that would have been my preference.  But those struggles have helped me to grow in every area of my life.  I am a better wife, parent, grandparent, teacher, daughter, sister, and friend because of them.  I have lots of room for improvement, but I am better for the struggles. I understand the true signs of love because of these struggles.

So many people are hurting in our world!  If we look around and forget about ourselves for a few minutes, we will see the gravity of the situation.  When people hurt, many times by their own doing, we need to look at ourselves and remember the ways we have messed up over the years.  We will become far less judgmental and much more forgiving.

I was brought up in a Christian home with all the advantages of loving parents who cared deeply for me.  I had other family members for support if I needed it.  We weren’t wealthy by any means, but I was never hungry, and I always had enough clothes to wear.  I was of average intelligence, and I had some friends.  I was fortunate enough to stay out of trouble, mostly because I wanted to please my parents, and I was raised that certain things were unacceptable.  I was one of those who listened, at least for a while.

But my life took a turn, and I went to work when I was sixteen.  I soon learned that it wasn’t so easy when you were around people who did not care about what God said.  Many kids at school didn’t care, but they were not in my close circle.  I could choose who I was around at school.  This changed my outlook on many things.

Once I got out of high school, I faced situations I had never been faced with before.  I am not proud to say it, but I did not always make the right choices.  However, I am comforted to know that all of those sins are under the blood.  The Lord has forgiven me, and He expects me to forgive others.

It is relatively easy for me to forgive people, and I do not find it difficult to ask someone to forgive me.  It used to be.  All I have to do to forgive someone is to look back at my past and remember how my Heavenly Father forgave me and continues to forgive me.  I can look at my children as they make mistakes and remember my own.  It keeps me from becoming angry, hurt, or disappointed.  Oh yes, I have felt saddened at some of the choices they have made, but I was better able to help them when I remembered my poor choices.  It is like that with every person in my life.  I am not saying that it is always my first reaction when someone does something stupid.  In my mind, my first reaction is how could you?  How could you have ____?  You fill in the blank!  I have learned it is best not to react quickly.  I am not always successful, but I have gotten much better over the years.  I found it keeps me out of trouble.

If we look at life as we should, we will realize that our decisions, mistakes, and sins affect our Heavenly Father much more than anyone else.  God gives us the blueprint on how to love.  He put our needs above His own.  God sent His Son to die on a cruel cross so that we might have salvation.  He forgave our sins before we committed them.  God is just waiting for us to ask for His forgiveness through His Son.  I have been saved since I was fourteen, and God is still forgiving me.  He also is my encourager, my provider, and my friend.  He loves me enough to chasten me when I mess up, and He does it with so much love.

So, are we showing love to the people in our lives?  The gift of forgiveness, true forgiveness, is so precious.  When we truly forgive, we remember it no more.  Our Father in Heaven has wiped our lives clean because of Jesus.  He is perfect and He forgives the imperfect.  Why can’t the imperfect forgive the imperfect and choose to remember no more?  Our Heavenly Father puts our best interest first whether we realize it or not.  We are so selfish that it is difficult for us to put the needs of others ahead of our own.  Are you an encourager, a giver, and a true friend?

Do we show the signs of true love to others?  Ask yourself if you are forgiving, encouraging, and selfless?  Isn’t it time we show Jesus’ love to others?

 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 

I John 4:7

Mrs. Worthington has five children and twelve grandchildren.  She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro