“For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”  2 Chronicles 30: 9b

When I was 14, I attempted to take my own life. It was many years ago; I now have a teenager of my own. I don’t think about suicide anymore, but I do sometimes think about why I did what I did. We hear stories of teenagers killing themselves because they have been bullied. That wasn’t the case with me. In fact, it was the opposite. I said some very hurtful things to friends. I was the bully – not on a regular basis, but it only takes one statement to truly hurt someone’s feelings. After I said these horrible things, and saw how much it hurt, I felt horrible. I felt that I was such a mean person that I didn’t deserve to live.

It’s important for us to remember, especially during this time of self-examination, that God forgives our sins. He is full of grace and compassion. Of course, we should try to lead a godly life and love our neighbor, but we are human. Because we are human, we are born into sin. We may falter many times in our attempts to do the right thing. I like to think of every day as “practice.” Just like an athlete or a musician or even a child learning to ride a bike, we need to practice living as the Lord calls us to. Like the athlete, musician, or child, we should practice and practice and practice. Just like the athlete, musician, or child, we should do our very best, yet know that we will never reach perfection.

While I try to be a “good person,” I am far from perfect. We are all sinners, but God loves us. Think of your children, your pets, your parents, your siblings, your friends. They are not perfect. They have likely sinned against you. Yet, you still love them and forgive them. If you can forgive others, the Lord can certainly forgive us. We also need to learn to forgive ourselves.

I know now that the friends I hurt when I was a teenager would have forgiven me, if I would have apologized. I know today, when I do hurtful things, the person I wronged will forgive me. All I need to do is ask. The same is true with God. He will forgive our sins. All we need to do is ask.

Prayer: Lord, help us to do our best to live a godly life. Be with us when we struggle. Help us to remember to turn to you when we sin. Thank you for your compassion and forgiveness as you guide us in your ways.  Amen.