Catch Up

Post 203

I don't have much to say tonight. Both yesterday and today I took the dog to Hays Backend. I was on the phone with my Ohio friend who is moving to Tennessee the whole walk yesterday so I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings. Today, I noticed several downed trees and recalled my hubby had sent a link that a tornado went through that area a couple weeks ago. I could tell! I was also happy to see several of the blue butterflies and several of the small yellow kind. Where in the world have the GBH and cardinals gone? I think it's so weird.

The other piece of news I can fill you in on is that earlier this week I found out there WAS NOT a card along with the gift from Person 1 in the Analogy Posts.

https://icantimagine.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/133551246?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts

(I think if I were to use a computer instead of my phone I could embed these properly. Once again, I'm sorry)

I have no feeling. I'd actually forgotten about it until the person gave me the answer.

Just so you know, I have forgiven the perpetrators, but I do not want a relationship with two of the three. When I posted those blog entries, Rock 4 sent me the below, which is worth a look.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-to-move-from-forgiveness-to-reconciliation/

Here's just a sample from that article:

Timing of Reconciliation

The process of reconciliation depends on the attitude of the offender, the depth of the betrayal, and the pattern of offense. When an offended party works toward reconciliation, the first and most important step is the confirmation of genuine repentance on the part of the offender (Luke 17:3). An unrepentant offender will resent your desire to confirm the genuineness of his confession and repentance. The offender may resort to lines of manipulation such as, “I guess you can’t find it in yourself to be forgiving,” or, “Some Christian you are, I thought Christians believed in love and compassion.”

Such language reveals an unrepentant heart. Don’t be manipulated into avoiding the step of confirming the authenticity of your offender’s confession and repentance. It is advisable in difficult cases to seek the help of a wise counselor, one who understands the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. Such a counselor can help the injured person establish boundaries and define steps toward reconciliation that are restorative rather than retaliatory.

It is difficult to genuinely restore a broken relationship when the offender is unclear about his confession and repentance. We should strive to be as certain as we can of our offender’s repentance—-especially in cases involving repeated offenses. Even God will not grant forgiveness to one who is insincere about his confession and repentance. The person who is unwilling to forsake his sin will not find forgiveness with God (Proverbs 28:13).

Of course, only God can read hearts; we must evaluate actions. As Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16a). We must not allow superficial appearances of repentance to control our responses. Displays of tears or appearing to be sorry must not become substitutes for clear changes in attitude and behavior.

Thank you for reading!