forgiveness???

Spring break ... great times visiting with family ... no hiking trip or skiing adventure this year. I've spent most of the last couple of days preparing a garden and prepping the house for painting ... both tasks are progressing at a crawl. But both tasks are therapeutic in some ways, redundant physical tasks that leave the mind open to think ... if allowed ... in productive themes. I've continually had the following lyrics running through my head - from the song Don Henley wrote - and realize that they are not directly applicable, [ intended for his lost love ] - the lyrics still leave a haunting message.

Within the past few days, I've had occasion to visit with a number of people plagued by a battle with forgiveness: a young adolescent who does not seem able to forgive her self for some of the "stuff" that continues to creep into life; a man who - years ago - made derogatory accusations and charges against someone that were unfounded and unjust; a person who wronged an organization for which they worked; a man who blindly lives his life selfishly at the expense of his wife and children; a family who has been torn apart by a father who left the family to fend for themselves; his wife who carries a burden of guilt that is not really hers; a family who grieves for the 'loss' of a daughter who has made choices that affect and will affect her and her family for years to come. I have to wonder what these all have in common and why this song has occupied my mind so much while scraping paint from the house and shoveling earth for raised beds in the garden.

These times are so uncertain,
There's a yearning undefined,
People filled with rage,
We all need a little tenderness,
How can love survive in such a graceless age?
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness,
They're the very things we kill, I guess,
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms,
And the work I put between us,
You know it doesn't keep me warm,

I'm learning to live without you now,
But I miss you, baby,
The more I know, the less I understand,
All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again,

I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter,
But everything changes,
And my friends seem to scatter,
But I think it's about forgiveness,
Forgiveness,

and that is what they all have in common, none of these folks have asked for forgiveness! or they have withheld forgiveness because the person that wronged them has not asked for forgiveness! ... so the burden only gets heavier. Then I'm reminded of the greatest example of forgiveness ... Jesus - as he hung on a Roman cross was forgiving all of mankind for all the future sin of the world - and to start it out, he looked around at the crowd that had gathered to curse him, throw stones, spit on him, and finally humiliate him by his death on the tree ... even while they were in the heat of this crucifixion ... without them even asking!

"Father, forgive them ... for they know not what they do!"

...