Learning to forgive when your mama bear instincts kick in

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:13-14 (NIV)

We talk about forgiveness a lot in the Christian community – and it makes sense. The Bible tells us time and again to forgive others as God as forgiven us.

And from a mental wellness standpoint, I also know the benefits of forgiveness. Carrying around hard feelings toward someone else is only hurting ourselves.

While I’d like to think I’ve made progress at forgiving others and am doing well with it, one area of struggle for me is forgiving those who have wronged my children.

That’s hard for us moms, isn’t it? Our inner mama bear can’t help but come out when we see our children hurt or wronged.

We want to fight. We want to defend and retaliate. Though we should most definitely stand up for and advocate for our children, we don’t want to get caught up in holding grudges and not forgiving.

The truth is, I don’t think I can do this on my own in some situations with some people. So that’s where love comes in. I need God to pour His love into me to ease my anger and frustration so I can let it go, forgive and move on.

What are you holding onto today that it’s time to let go? Ask God to pour into you so you can let go and move forward.

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for forgiving me. I ask that you pour your love into me so that I can forgive others – even when they have hurt those I love. Show me how to move forward. In Jesus’ name, Amen.