Friday, April 9, 2010

Forgivness, Friends, and Real Housewives

My husband likes to tease me about the reality shows that I watch..before you gasp--- I'll just admit to you the shows that I watch: all of the Bravo Real Housewives shows, Guiliana and Bill, Tori and Dean.. I'm reality show junkie. I think it's the fact that I am a people watcher. Seriously, give me a cup of coffee and a good seat, and I'll sit and watch people forever. It's interesting to see how people interact, to wonder what people are really like. I know that these shows are a bit campy, but to me, it's like being a fly on the wall. Of course, my hubby thinks they are all absurd! I know that some of you out there know exactly what shows I'm talking about because you watch them, too!

For the last several weeks, I've been watching the Real Housewives of NYC.. and oh goodness, I have been bothered. There are two friends, that in previous seasons, were the best of best friends. During this past year, they had a major falling out and seemingly didn't address the issues, until one of them thought they were past the point of no return. I've watched this feeling like I know them (one of the reasons that my sweet hubby thinks I'm a little silly for watching), but come on, friends out there- Do you ever put your self in these situations? How many of us have disagreed with a close friend and wondered if forgiveness was an option. The TRUTH is written here- Mark 11:25-26
"If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins."

You see, when we are wronged, and we ALL have been at some point, we dwell on the hurt, the misunderstanding, the pain caused by someone we've trusted. What we forget in these times, is that at some point we have probably inflicted the same hurt or pain on someone else. The hurt usually seems so one-sided that we think we have the choice to not forgive what has been done to us. The Bible clearly says that we don't have that choice. We MUST forgive to have the Father forgive our sins. If you're like me, you are glad to know that there is grace for my missteps, my SIN. Let's face it... we are all in need of GRACE, the Son of God, and we should never take for granted all that we have been forgiven!

I recently had a friend come back into my life, after a time where I will admit that I held on to a grudge. I can't really tell you where she was with her process of forgiveness, but I know that I held onto my end for way too long. We reconnected and I was so blessed by her friendship. It was good to remember what made us friends, initially and to recount the great times that we had shared. The forgiveness helped us move forward and opened the door for us to rebuild a great friendship.

Always remember what brought you together, what made you friends.. it was something special. Measure someone else by the same measure that you'd hope to be measured. We must remember that we're all human, we all hurt others at some point, and we ALL need to be forgiven at some point. Most of all remember that Jesus died to forgive us and we hadn't even sinned yet. Yet, He made to ultimate sacrifice and cleared the slate.


PS.. in my wildest dreams, maybe those two NYC Housewives will read this and rethink their friendship. A girl can hope, can't she?!

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