Awhile back I was saddened and hurt by someone and their interactions with one of my children. I ultimately forgave this person, tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but felt it best to keep a safe distance from them.
Last week I felt an internal nudging, after learning of some trials they were facing, to reach out and convey my care and concern for this person and their family. So, putting our past differences aside, I set to work on mailing them a care package. As I was headed to the post office I wondered, “Is this weird? I haven’t spoken to this person in a long while.”
But then this quote popped into my head almost as quickly as I finished the previous thought. “Never suppress a generous thought.” We don’t know in life if people will receive us. But we will never look back and regret extending a kindness or an olive branch. I felt so grateful as I put that little package together to know that true forgiveness had taken place in my heart. It wasn’t an empty sentiment I convinced myself of after the offense, but a truth I could feel. Previous hurt was replaced with sincere concern. And it felt really right.
I thought about my Savior and His commandments... like forgiving those we feel wronged by. Sometimes those commandments feel so hard. But as we set aside our own agendas, and just do what He asks, we are rewarded with not only the sweetest peace for our own hearts; but oftentimes the ability to see the other person’s heart the way He does. And oh, how that changes everything.
Seeing others through His eyes makes all the difference. It doesn’t mean we put ourselves in situations were we are misused or taken advantage of. But it means hurt is replaced with compassion. It’s this compassion that frees us to see the other person through His lens, and feel the peace that comes from knowing He extends that same grace to us in our own flaws and shortcomings.
It’s this yielding of hurt for compassion that enables us to feel His love in such an unfiltered way. I was reminded yet again that His commandments, especially the hard ones, are also his sweetest I love you’s.
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