Cancel. I have come to not like that word in how it is being used right now. Cancel my debt - great! Cancel my dentist appointment - yay. Cancel people - devastating. Our Cancel Culture is giving us permission to walk away when things are tough or we don’t agree, when we should stay and have that hard conversation. Real talk from me to you: I have said “I’m done” and at times I needed to be because of abuse or it became toxic and unhealthy. But there were also times, I should have let that person out of the box I put them in and tried again.

Jesus challenged His culture by responding opposite of what was the norm. He said to love where you find hate; He did not dismiss children; He raised women up with respect. Jesus pushed the boundary from the act of adultery to just the thought is wrong. Love raises the bar of how we are to think, act and respond.

I think the opposite of canceling someone is forgiveness. Forgiveness allows for relationships to be in a healthier place, even if we need a really strong boundary. Instead of a wall, you build a gate and you guard it!

There have been people in our lives that are hard to forgive. #becausewearehuman.

Jesus says in the Matthew 6:12 “…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Paul in Colossians 3:13 says: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

When we don’t forgive others it is damaging, and we can become small and bitter people. Have you had the experience where you work at forgiving someone and feel pretty free from the anger or bitterness you felt? You stopped praying for a piano to fall on them and start praying for God’s best. Just me? OK. Well, then you see them and your stomach falls to your feet and all the anger comes rushing back!? You think to yourself: “Yeah, we still have work to do”. Jesus was not joking when He said to forgive 70x7. It can take a long time!

* Forgiveness does not mean what they did or said is OK and I’m condoning it.
* Forgiveness does not mean trust. Two completely different things.
* Forgiveness does not mean I need to go out to dinner, be BFF’s and allow that behavior back in my life.
*Forgiveness does bring me freedom.
*Forgiveness does mean I can love and have a boundary.
*Forgiveness does mean that I can see them and be me. Not the bound-up in anger me or the I want to throat-punch them me. Still just me? Real talk, people.

If anyone had the right to cancel anyone it was God to us, but He did the opposite. He made a way for us to be with Him forever. Dean shared in his message on Sunday that: Relationship was always God’s plan. He also shared this quote:

“Jesus Christ knows the worst about you. Nonetheless, He is the one who loves you the most.” A.W. Tozer

I’ve taken the time to look at my life and how I respond to people that have hurt me, my hubs or, heaven help you, my babies. I have not liked some of what I’ve seen and how easily I could be done with a person. It has been a place of reckoning and aligning my behavior and thoughts to God’s. It is an opportunity to grow and love like Jesus loved me.

It can be hard seeing things in ourselves that are not pretty. Real change doesn’t come from putting make-up on it and pretending it’s not there, like we would cover up a pimple. It starts with us.

Let’s start a revolution of love and forgiveness > hate and canceling.

Have an amazing day!
All My Love ~
Jodi xoxo

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