Thoughts by Hannah Michelle

Forgiveness is hard.   I’m not going to pretend like it’s not.   It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.   However, I think it’s one of the most rewarding gifts God gave us. Since my dad died, I’ve pretty much been a “you get one chance” kinda gal.   I never forgave people for the things they did to hurt me.   I’d just leave them in my past, and not try to reconcile anything with them.   They hurt me, so they were not good.   Or, at least, that’s what my young mind thought about it.   I had enough pain in my life, so if I was hurt any more, I just shut the person out, as a way to try to protect my heart. Recently, I’ve been focusing so much on forgiveness. I’m learning that it’s a choice, and I cannot allow it to be caught up in my feelings.   I might always be hurt, but forgiveness doesn’t have to be about how I feel.   I mess up every single day. I sin daily.   But Christ still chooses to forgive me. He died so that I could be forgiven.   And if I’m

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”   (Exodus 20:8) I’ve only heard that at least 100 times throughout my life.   From the Creation story on, Sabbath is an important part of the teachings in the Bible.   It’s the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments.   (That’s only after “have no other gods before me,” “don’t worship idols,” and “don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.” AND “Do not murder” is the sixth commandment – the Sabbath is before not murdering people.) However, until this year, I never once took an intentional Sabbath.   Which doesn’t seem that crazy in today’s culture, but when looking in the Old Testament – the punishment for working on the Sabbath was being cut off from the people, and the punishment for desecrating the Sabbath was death. Let me just repeat that: not honoring the Sabbath was punishable by DEATH.   (Exodus 31:12-17) In those regards, I should’ve died a long time ago. I’m so thankful for God’s grace and forgiveness