i had a 78 year old sponser one time-feisty old lady but her memory was goingand her forgiveness prayer had something like- "and for the ones i don't remember, dear God, give them all exactly what they deserve."i always laughed when i heard that prayer of hers and someday i will step in those same shoes and probably do the same thing. love, devonh

thanx Devon,,, now "they are gettin gthe big house/ the new car// the hot young lover///all the money they could ver need///and a God who will help them be grateful for it all ! lol geesh..

that was prayer I heard all the time at an oldtimers meeting i used to attend many years ago..

god bless..
botbotcoco
www.londonppbbs.com

isnt forgiveness something that we can practive daily in our lives????
- the slow woman in the check out line
- the slow man in the passing lane
- the neighbor with the barking dog

cant we practive forgiveness by just allowing these little trivial things to pass without us getting up in arms, mad, stressed and angry?
- because in fact, those things are totally out of our control, and it is best for us to remain calm and just be.

when i see the name of the thread, i sing to myself the song by Don Henley, called The Heart of the Matter.
If you get a chance, listen to it, hear the lyrics.

...The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, Im learning again

Ive been tryin to get down
To the heart of the matter.

But my will gets weak,
And my thoughts seem to scatter.

But I think its about forgiveness, forgiveness

well done unh1995... I do like that song...
I believe it is in baby steps that we grow towards bigger and better things

my sponsor told me it isnt up to me to forgive. That is in my higher powers hands. I have to pray for forgiveness and the ability to forgive but it is gods job to forgive.

you know, not to be cute or maybe to be cute, if you lived at my house unh1995 you would be hard pressed to stay so jolly. and i love that song "the Heart of the Matter" but it is a song. from what i have read is the author has his demons, too. i guess we can try to achieve that balance,that symmetry but i am not going to give special dispensation to anyone. case by case, my friend. love,devon
ps. missydi, you will know your enemy when your blood pressure zooms and every instinct is screaming "nevous breakdown" love and kisses, devonh

I guess if you don't feel resentful toward a person, you don't have to worry about forgiveness. If you do feel resentful, pray for them. I prayed for 2 family members daily for over a year, and I didn't speak to them that whole time. In that time they won the lottery more than once (a few thousand each time), went to Atlantic City and won multiple times, and many other good things and I just kept praying for them. Eventually, I found myself happy for them when good things happened.

Then there's the daily forgiveness, turning it over. I love that Don Henley song!

MAYBE I POSTED THIS IN THE WRONG COMMUNITY, BUT MY POINT IS MORE OR LESS THAT EVERYBODY IS THE ENEMY, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT FORGIVING SOCIETY?
AM I TOO FAR GONE TO START OVER AGAIN AND LEARN TRUST?

missydi, i was molested as a small child, brutally raped by strangers -not once but twice- the second leaving a multitude of injuries plus hepatitis b. my father was an alcoholic, my sister was a condemning successfull successfull business woman short on humanity but long on vengience, my mother was an abuser-verbally/emotionally.

i guess just being a drunk may have been a fair trade-off from escaping that house of horrors.i would suggest praying for everyone's deterant to getting well. cover the basis and you will cover yours as well... devonh

http://www.celebratelove.com/forgive.htm

Really good stuff at this link.

I've had to learn how to forgive because I was poisoning my soul with the amount of resentment I carried, and it just plain hurt to be me.

I'm still learning and I lose track some days, but it's getting better. It halps to remember that we are all in need of forgiveness too, for one thing or another. Humans make mistakes and some are just evil. The evil done too us we forgive because it has to lose its power and forgiveness removes that power.

If you are not sure who the enemy is than you probably have no mirrors in your house.

Ditto that, Happy...

We ARE our own worst enemy, aren't we!

unh1995, i like what you said about forgiveness..i was just sitting here listening to the dog out back bark and bark..i wanted to go strangle it or its owner..i think ill take your advice tonight,,,ty

I have always been my own worse enemy Karen... I can talk myself into a drink faster than any job, financial situation, death of a friend, or a broken relationship could. Yes, I am my own worse enemy.