Ponderings: On Forgiveness

The carrot up your nose was around the time of the "Congo situation". I remember the high chair scene well!

This is beautiful.......Andy's a little IMP.......You are precious, smart & pretty.....and Martie is OOOOO La la.......Gorgeous picture of our South African Queen........Effer loves you all......Have a wonderful day. I send hugs galore!

Oh...Dear Maria, you are always reminding me of events in my life. A carrot? One of my cousins stuck a crayon up his nose.

I laughed when I read about you locking you mom out. My friend and I went to the Hearing and speech center together with my son and her daughter. My son was born deaf and my friend’s daughter was born blind and deaf, but the doctors recovered her eyesight and when she was about three, my friend went out side and her daughter Dawn ran and locked her out and watched as dawn dragged a chair over to the sink and poured dish detergent in the water and ran the over with suds and water, before my friend’s husband came home to unlock the door. I had forgotten about this until I read your hub.

I loved Brenda Lee, any of her songs, favorites All Alone Am I, and Let it be Me. I also love End of the World (I love Skeeter Davis singing “End of the World”).

I went to bed at 3 am. I was listening to my Brenda Lee DVDs.

What a voice. Voted up across the board and shared.

What a precious heart you have, love you.

Shyron

The carrot part has to be the funniest of all times. Who would have thought that you would do such a thing? Me, of course. I'm thankful to be alive after trying to "start the car" using a bobby pin in an electric socket when I was four. It seemed the reasonable thing to do at the time and am grateful for my parents' forgiveness for blowing most of the fuses in the house. And then there was the time I jumped off the roof of the carport with an umbrella. Kids. They'll give you gray hair.

Forgiveness, it's such an important concept that really affects us more than the person or persons that we forgive. I've seen it fester for four decades in a parent who never forgave my other parent. It did nothing to make life easier.

Your article really brings out the beauty of forgiveness and I couldn't stop singing that Brenda Lee song all day. Thanks(?) Lots of votes up and away to you, friend, for this one. Love from Texas and me.

A great continuation of this series; the ripple effect has been an inspiring gift. Nadella’s comment was jaw dropping. Say what? Was this a Freudian something on his part or did he think this through? The retraction was a good step in the right direction. I would love to attend one of your classes, by the way. We need more Maria’s out there, my friend. I think you and Martie are true soul mates. Forgiving Andy for his playful “what’s out there, Dad?” antics and finding humor in the situation is wonderful. And you are so right about self-forgiveness. This is such a delightful and thought-provoking read, Maria. Thank you!

An amazing thought provoking article here. Please forgive me as I am trying my best to comment on each of your brilliant musical thoughts for each good word. I so appreciate you and your brilliance! Shared, up of course. Looking forward to reading more...hugs!

You are a lovely writer, my dear Maria, and I enjoyed reading your compelling thoughts about forgiveness. I have always believed that we can forgive even if we find it difficult to forget.

Speaking of which, I will find it extremely difficult if not impossible to erase that visual image of you entering the ER with that carrot inserted in your nasal cavity.

Dear Martie,

Wow, can't wait to read your book when it's done. It sounds really interesting! Good luck getting it finished and I hope you enjoy your 10 day tour of the south coast.

Love & Hugs,

Gail

Oh my gosh, Maria, you funny woman, now I will forever see you with a carrot in your nose. Hahahaha!

My dear, sista.... wait-wait..... let me take another roll on the floor, laughing...

Yes, sharing my thoughts and experiences, dreams and struggles with you, Maria, keeps me 'balanced'. The distance between us is actually a blessing, as it allows just as much objectiveness as subjectiveness. I can't tell you how many times you have given me another perspective on an issue, and so enabled me to forgive and tolerate and even to appreciate whatever I tolerate. (Like naughty little puppies and a boyfriend who is too kind for his shirt.) I am so glad I am doing the same for you, my dear Maria.

True, I am a forgiver. It is very easy for me to understand a person and their actions and then to forgive them. (But not forgetting anything. We have to learn and remember the lessons involved.) We honestly don't know what we are doing when instinct kicks in - like Andy's when he WANTED himself out in the street, free to run wild and jump whatever looks interesting. Only afterwards we realise why and WTF? And we decide to never again.... until instinct (or the devil?) makes us DO IT again.

2:30am down here, and I am honestly tired and even lonely, as this book has become a monster demanding all my attention. I wanted it to be finished before Friday, when we are going to tour the south coast for 10 days. (Planned before I saddled myself with a novel!) But the more I write, the more it wants to be written. Like spring-cleaning a house - once you start focusing on dirt, you see more and more and more dirt to get rid off.

Anyway, I am still here, and I WILL catch up on all your writings before... don't laugh!.... Christmas 2014.

To all my friends in here. You have no idea how I miss you. I know all of you will find this book - fiction, though based on reality - very interesting, as it is about living and surviving in South Africa. Weaving fiction and facts into an engrossing story is one helluva challenge, let me tell you. But eventually this beast of a monster will be groomed and introduced to the world.

Now can you believe it, Maria, I feel exactly the same about 'I Am Sorry'.

Love you all :)

Dear Maria,

I loved this hub, which is full of forgiveness delivered with a healthy dose of humor and compassion!

Most memorable moments:

the carrot up your nose; you locking your poor mama out; Andy's glowing eyes under the caption, "The Devil Made Me Do It."

And I loved your tribute to Martie, her response to you after Andy scared you to death, and the stunning photo of her!

Hugs & Love,

Gail

Voting this hub up across the board.

How ironic that we both used Brenda's ' I'M sorry ' in our hubs this week. This was a fun hub, carrot in the nose, humm.. I agree, Martie is my kind of girl, ready to forgive but will make her stand known on most situations. I like that. It has taken me a long time to learn forgiveness, when I was able to forgive, it changed my whole perspective on life. I love Elton John and Ray Charles so I'm on my way up to watch and listen. Terrific hub Mar...Hugs..

Dear Maria, Your inherent and inherited goodness is awesome, and you've linked so many like minded people in your journey. I congratulate you! And I so much appreciate being in the loop. Great to have news and links to Martie. and all the other movers and shakers as well. Thank you!

That Andy fellow sure has 'eyes' for you, look at them glow. I would use him to light the front porch on Halloween evening.

This presentation is so full of warmth. I can't decide if carrot in nose beats locking mamma out of the house. And rather than giving you a good 'what for', she pinned a key to her sleeve so you couldn't do it again.

You sure picked a good friend in Martie.

What a treat to read this this morning.

You bad, bad girl, you, locking your momma outside ... hee hee. Love the stories you share here, dear Maria, and can certainly relate to them. My sweet momma was so full of grace, mercy which all are intertwined with forgiveness in my mind! My siblings and I sure pulled some good ones on her, especially when my dad was away during the wars. Bless her sweet soul.

Brenda Lee's song is unforgettable.

You have certainly brought home here the importance of forgiveness in our lives and especially in forgiving ourselves. It is essential that forgiveness permeates every aspect of our lives, for any unforgiveness in our hearts can actually make us physically and mentally sick. Being a nurse, I know you know this fact already.

Aw, look at Andy there ... your story about his escape to follow his dad to work is priceless. It reminds me (different scenario though) of the time when my children were small and we actually had three labs at the time. We were gone for a couple of days, but had someone to check in on them and feed them, etc., of course. When we arrived back home, we thought we had been vandalized, because every single item in our storage shed had been drug out into the yard, with the bicycle seats chewed up along with everything else, paint cans ...plus every screen on the back of our house was removed and chewed up! We were about to call the police, but when we saw our labs, they all in one instance lowered their heads in shame and seemingly asking for forgiveness LOL. We knew they were all guilty, but surprisingly one did not rat-out the othera : ). Of course, we forgave them all instantly, as we knew they just missed us.

Personally, I had to deal with unforgiveness in my heart, that I did not really realize was there until I was about 30, concerning my dad, who suffered terribly with PTSD in his lifetime after returning home from Korea and Vietnam. I did not understand the torment he endured daily when I was a child. So, I harbored resentment, for life was so difficult at times growing up, when during those times, the Vets really did not seek help and not sure if they even knew of PTSD at the time. Finally, the Lord revealed to me this unforgiveness in my heart, and I have been truly set free from that terrible bondage and chains. Forgiveness is a powerful act and a must if we are to get through this life and be able to live life to the full. Now, I have nothing but compassion in my heart for my dad and I understand he suffered much more than we ever did.

Martie is beautiful and you are too. Thank you for being you!

Sorry for rambling on here. I am enjoying a long weekend and have this Monday off ... so I get to ramble on!

Up +++++ tweeting, pinning, G+ and sharing

Love you and (((Hugs)) to you

Dear Maria,

Love this, your music is really great. I always loved Brenda Lee with that sort of whiny but compelling song!

Maybe the next baton should be Purity, as in "Puppy Mischief"! Just one look at your fur baby's sparkling eyes says it all!

Have you always had one nostril bigger than the other since you were 3?

Just askin'

Turning to our Sista Martie - she is a great example to us all of the struggle it often takes to find forgiveness for life events that often seem to be unforgivable! I think of her as so strong for her questioning, her assessment and her final analysis of things. I find myself wondering what is in her new book?

Great article!

Carrot up the nose? Really, Mar? Whatever possessed you to even think about it, let alone try it! I'm sure you were in pain but the picture in my head is hilarious.

I agree with you about Martie. She's a lady full of love and shares it freely with those she trusts. I'm excited about her book and look forward to reading it when it hits the stores.

Enjoy your day my friend!

Lot o love,

Sha