The first year it was Trust. That year I lost my best friend; not to death, not to another person, but rather I lost her because she thought I was crazy. Every day for a solid year, I listened to the song This is the Stuff by Francesca Battistelli. The song goes through a list of things that are bad; and yet the chorus states
There's that word "TRUST." I had to believe that God knew exactly what He was doing, so that I could move to a different phase of my life; including loosing a job that I loved.
This is the stuff that drives me crazy. This is the stuff that's getting to me lately. In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed. This is the stuff that gets under my skin; but I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing. It might not be what I would choose, but this is the stuff You use.
The second year (2016) my word was Patience. Oh, boy that was a huge one for me. I had been moved to a job where I was nothing more than a bus driver, I felt like I was under constant monitoring. At the beginning of the school year, I got a negative job review that nearly sent me over the edge because I had done everything well as a bus driver. Who knew you couldn't say "I've had a heck of a day." (yes, I used the word heck). In addition to all the negative stuff that happened, my boss from the museum let me go, even though I never gave a resignation--she just assumed I wouldn't be working any more. Patience had really let me down. But I kept chugging along and applied for over 600 different jobs in various parts of the country.
That's when Lowe's Corporation called and I landed a job in the national call center! This job is amazing!!! I love it and I love my co-workers!! After I got my job at Lowe's my former best friend came back on the scene and wasn't a good thing--This has all led me to my 2017 word...something I think we all could do a bit better. I didn't choose it until January 4, 2017 because I wasn't sure it was really the characteristic I wanted to endure a moment's trial or tribulation for...but all in all, I am happy with my word....and that word is:
FORGIVENESS
If you know me, you are probably scratching your head saying "Rachel, forgiveness is something you already to really well." Unfortunately that just isn't true. Often times I forgive because I want to get something out of forgiving another person. It's never really been because it's something I am supposed to do.
This year, I want to become more like Christ and forgive people. Forgive them because they deserve it; and because it's only through Christ that I can remotely forgive someone! When I was thinking about Forgiveness, kept thinking of Peter approaching the Lord asking "How many times can someone sin against me and I have to forgive them? As many as seven?" And yet, our Savior said "No, as many as 70 times 7." (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus here reverses the principle of 490-fold (compare Gen 4:24 LXX) or seventy-sevenfold (Gen 4:24, where LXX uses the exact phrase; Carson 1984:405) vengeance, demanding unlimited forgiveness toward the truly repentant. The Rabbinical rule was that no one should ask forgiveness of his neighbor more than thrice. Peter, who asks as a scribe a scribe’s question, thought he was making a great advance in liberality and shewing himself worthy of the Kingdom of heaven. But the question itself indicates complete misunderstanding of the Christian spirit.
Finally we must understand to truly understand forgiveness, that we once were sinners humbled before a God who created heaven and earth and like the truly humbled sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him.
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