[Jesus said,] “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
— John 20:23
Jennie gripped the metal mesh with her fingers and kicked the fence. What’s happening to me, anyway? she asked herself. Only last week she had played great, but today it was like she had totally forgotten how to throw a softball.
To make matters worse, she had overheard her friends Tara and Linnea gossiping about all her mistakes after the game. Or my used-to-be friends! Jennie thought angrily.
The next time her team played, Jennie was still mad, and it showed in her game. She tried to stay calm, but she threw the softball wildly from the pitcher’s mound. Jennie wasn’t surprised when the coach pulled her out. Nor was she surprised to see Tara take her place. Jennie’s anger flared up again, this time like a forest fire.
She felt desperate. Lately Jennie hadn’t prayed much, but she started now. Even so, her prayers didn’t seem to get off the ground. Something seemed to stand in the way between her and God.
The second inning passed. Then the third. Jennie still sat on the bench. By the beginning of the fourth, she started sorting out her choices. One word dropped into her mind.
Forgive? You gotta be kidding, God.
Through the rest of the inning, Jennie kept coming back to that one word: Forgive!
But, God, they were the ones being mean!
Suddenly Jennie knew what choice to make. Eyes wide open, she stared ahead, praying silently. She used only seven words: “Jesus, in your name I forgive them.”
In the next moment, Jennie felt the weight she’d carried all week drop off her back. “Yaaaay!” she called out the next time something went right. But it was more than a cheer for the Cardinals. She was cheering herself on.
More to Explore: John 15:16 – 17
Girl Talk: After she forgave Tara and Linnea, Jennie felt she no longer carried a heavy weight. You may forgive someone and not “feel” any different. Yet your prayer of forgiveness still counts. How do you know?
God Talk: “Jesus, when someone hurts me, I want to hate that person. Yet even on the cross you prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ Because of what you did, I forgive the person who hurt me. Take away my bitter and angry feelings.”
From Girl Talk by Lois Walfrid Johnson