Forgive... and Forget

I have a love-hate relationship with my cell phone. I use it to store phone numbers (obviously), and addresses and directions and encouraging or funny texts that I don't want to forget. In a crunch, sometimes I use it as a camera.

Having a cell phone is definitely handy, but sometimes I'm ready to just be done with it. I don't always like being contactable. Sometimes - like today - I purposefully leave it at home, just so I don't have to deal with people outside of my vicinity-of-vision.

I'm learning the incredible value of being emotionally, verbally, and mentally connected to the immediate geographical location. I have put a lot of effort into building friendships and relationships with people HERE for the last 6 months. After some foolish decisions to allow my support group and best friends to be people outside of my time zone, I cut that habit like dead-end hair and started seeking out friendships and spending time with people in my community.

It has been a liberating move from the technology world. I don't have to depend on facebook or cell phones or email or phone calls to communicate with my closest friends - I can hop in the car and drive to their house or track them down at one of their normal haunts.

With this independence from my cell phone, I also have stopped using some of the phone numbers I used to regularly employ. I had to think for a second to remember my sister's number (because she's living close... and I get to see her in person!) the other day, and tonight I realized I have completely forgotten the number of one of the people who was a primary person in my life for quite some time. Completely.Gone.

I've heard over and over again that the way to get over offenses is to forgive them and forget them. I whole heartedly agree. They aren't our responsibility to hold onto. I worship a God of Justice, and He'll do what He sees fit to justify wrongs against me... and wrongs I do to others.

I've experienced the beautiful miracle of seeing God's power working in my life to give me the ability to forgive, even as He forgave me. But I haven't always been as good at forgetting. I have a pretty good memory.

But this time, God met me half way. I forgave. He helped me forget. That's more than I had hoped for - but oh-SO-welcome!