My husband wants to raise goats.
I do not like the way livestock (farm animals) ties you down. If you have livestock you are tied to you
home, every outing has to be weighed with feeding times and other chores. So one day last month my husband wanted to go
to an auction of goats, sheep, and other small livestock, just to get an idea
of start-up costs. I said “Fine, have
fun, but do not buy any goats.” He
climbs in his truck. “I won’t buy any
goats.” We exchanged hugs, love yous,
and a kiss, and he drove away. As his
truck rolls away from me I shout after him, “Don’t buy any goats!”
The sale was a couple of hours away, so I
knew he would be getting home late. The
kids and I watched a movie, I put them to bed and went to bed myself. A while later I heard the truck return, but
no Kevin came in the house. I waited
longer, still no Kevin. As I am laying
there, I began to seethe. The phrase –
he bought goats – kept running through my mind.
Soon I hear him come in the door and immediately leave the house
again. He bought goats. A little bit later I heard a sound not
original to our little ‘farm’. The
distinctive bleat of a small goat. He
bought goats! I was angry. That was an understatement. I was livid.
After an entire discussion of cash flow and time, not to mention a
promise not to buy goats, he bought goats!
I know myself well enough to know that I am unreasonable after 9:00
p.m., so this was not the time to discuss the issue, and I knew there would be
a reason (valid at least in his own thought process). I feigned sleep. Soon Kevin came in and went to bed; with much
prayer, I continued to ‘sleep’. The next
morning, I got out of bed – he bought goats-.
I put on my shoes – he bought goats-.
I walked into the early morning sun – he bought goats-. I slogged my way across the yard – he bought
goats-. My anger had not diminished much
– he bought goats – but I was willing to hear his reasoning – he bought goats. I opened the door to the chicken house
knowing that any livestock would be stashed in the unused half of the chicken
house turned barn – he bought goats! And
I saw this…
I forgave him. Not just
because the animals are cute – but because that is what God wants us to
do. My husband has a fault of getting
livestock without discussing it first.
But God says to:
“Make allowance
for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord
forgave you, so you must forgive others”. Colossians 3:13 NLT
Where
would we be if we could not forgive? What kind of miserable lives would we have if
we could not let go and forgive. I could
have remained angry. What would that
have accomplished? Would I still have
goats in my barn? I could have sulked
and moped all day, I could have thrown a fit.
What would that accomplish?
Those choices would lead to my husband not being treated like an adult,
my kids tiptoeing around us, and all of us being miserable. My other choice – God’s choice – was to
forgive and be happy. Satan uses our
unwillingness to forgive to put iron in our hearts, to harden them against God’s
grace. The verse above says “Remember,
the Lord forgave you,”. Are we above the
Lord, thinking we are too good to forgive?
Un-forgiveness is like a festering wound, it causes pain all around, it
poisons, and it can even cause death. As
gangrene causes physical death, un-forgiveness can lead to spiritual death. Forgiving can be hard, but all good and
worth-while things are difficult.
“Make allowance
for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord
forgave you, so you must forgive others”. Colossians 3:13 NLT
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