Love binds them together

well i am a work in progress but i havent given up hope. i have about 1,000 things on my mind and not a clue how to handle them all. as much as i want to continue freaking out, i am surprisingly holding it together fairly well.

i read Colossians 3:1-17 tonight. It doesnt have a whole lot to do with what i was looking to read on, but it still made me think [which is the purpose here...]

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity"

It's strange to me how when I was looking for some guidance on prayer and patience, i found a verse that made sense to me and got me to think the most - and wasnt entirely on prayer or patience [though it does relate in a way]. i read a few different scriptures tonight and none really popped out at me. and what i wanted to look up, i couldnt find. i dont even remember how i stumbled across this. anyways, im rambling..

i feel like i am a fairly forgiving person. people have really screwed me over in the past and i somehow find it in my heart to forgive them, some it may take longer to forgive but in the end, i forgive them and move on with life. so coming across this verse and having it stick out to me the most seemed a bit silly. but it's not.

i reread "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another." a few times. it's interesting how it says to "bear with each other". we are all human and we all make mistakes. we do on a daily basis so it's interesting to me how I am being reminded to bear with others. i sometimes get incredibly frustrated with certain people at work. for example it happened today [huh go figure i would be reminded of this TODAY]. i had a headache and a co-worker kept babbling on and on and on and i couldnt take it anymore so i had to leave my desk to get away for a moment of peace. but tonight i am reminded to bear with others as they too have to put up with me [like my fellow readers have to put up with my thoughts - thanks guys!] God too has to put up with us and our crazy ways. Like i said in the last post, God granted us the freedom of choice but sometimes we make the wrong decisions that are not according to God's plan. We then get a kick in butt and are steered in the right direction, after we want to do things our way. [when has that really worked out??]

can you imagine if you were in God's shoes. wowsers. and to watch all these people on earth try to run their own lives and do things their way and then get all bent out of shape when it doesnt go right. and THEN get blamed for it on top of all that?! that has GOT to be frustrating! but He bears with us, forgives us and still loves us dearly...

so that part stuck out to me. but more so did "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." that's some powerful stuff right there. i am reminded to forgive others as well as myself because Jesus already paid for my sins on the cross. now this isnt a get out of jail free card, i can't go screw up on purpose and say "oh, well, i know i am forgiven...."

the Lord has forgiven me. it's so simple but sometimes its easily forgotten. and as i have to forgive others, i need to forgive myself.

i dont know why i was struck by these verses on forgiveness.. maybe i have some forgiving to do of myself or others that i am not aware of, maybe by not forgiving them or myself i am being held back from moving forward. huh....

i guess bearing with others isnt the easiest thing for us to do, and neither is forgiving others. but we are called to do it. Jesus stuck it out for us on the cross - and died! so i think the least we could do is forgive our crazy selves and put up with one another - even when we want to say choice words and get all flustered at one another. forgiveness is hard. it wasnt meant to be easy because we are humans - and lets be honest, we tend to makes things difficult.

Here is a favorite quote:

"Speak when you're angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret" -Lawrence J Peter

la ta di da....watch your tongues my friends. learn to forgive and bear with each other. God does it for us, we should do it for each other.


**as a reminder, i am a semi young gal trying to refresh my faith and so as a side note for all yall to remember: i am not a pastor and these are my thoughts and interpretations so take them as you wish. k, thanks.