Forgiveness! (Trina Agee Cornell)

 

My blog for eight nights in a row comes from one of my favorite people, Trina Agee Cornell! I met Trina 20+ years ago doing missions in Honduras. We've tried to hire her at WCS but the Lord is using her in St. Louis. She is a terrific wife and mom and disciple of Christ. Keep me in your prayers as I continue my work in Vietnam!

Good morning, everyone!  I hope this finds you doing well and having a great day!  This is the day that the Lord has made - I pray that you take time to truly rejoice and be glad in it.  There is something good for you in this day - I know that the Lord will reveal it to you in His time.  

Today is a good day, isn’t it?  Every day we are given is a gift from the Lord - we are never promised tomorrow.  This reminds me of one of my favorite songs from Matt Maher - “Joy still comes in the morning; hope still walks with the hurting.  If you’re still alive and breathing, praise the Lord!”  The breath we have in our lungs is a precious gift - and I pray that we never take it for granted.  

I have started out many a day with this mindset - things click well, my day pans out the way I think it should, all is well.  Then it happens - from seemingly out of nowhere.  It could be completely minor - or it could rock my world.  Everything stops in that moment - and I have a choice.  I can let my emotions take over - and affect my thoughts, words, and actions the rest of the day.  On the flip side, I can use that moment to pause and pray.  The Lord saw it coming before I did - and He is right there beside me, ready to face it with me.  

The choice looks easy on its head - but in the moment, it is anything but easy.  We can live in the mire that unforgiveness creates, or we can choose today to rise up.  In her book, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, Lysa TerKeurst shares, “Today is the day it stops. Today is my day to stop the grim, hopeless pursuit of expecting the other person to make this right so that I can receive the glorious hope-filled possibilities of this new day.” 

Forgiveness is hard, friends.  It is difficult on a number of levels - and it looks different for each of us.  When we take that step - when we make the move toward forgiveness, we put ourselves on the road to healing. It is truly a journey - there are times when we will stumble - but God sees you.  He will help you do the holy work - and help you continue to move in the right direction. 
Blessings, Trina

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1