“Then Peter came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? Up to seven times?’  Jesus answered him, ‘I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven.’” Matthew 18:21-22 AMP

Let It Go

This weekend while my husband and I were in the coffee section of a local restaurant waiting to be seated for breakfast, we saw a sign that read “Do not let a bad yesterday ruin a good today. Let it go.”

It struck us both as we had let a “bad yesterday” already ruin two days and were now hoping through real conversation over breakfast we could keep it from ruining another. Our youngest daughter, who had witnessed the whole thing, said, “You were both wrong; you need to get over it and move on.” On day three we were both committed to doing so.

We’d had a “discussion” about my car needing to go into the shop; to say the discussion had gone sideways is an understatement. There are layers to why it went south so quickly and sharply: hurt feelings, miscommunication, poor timing, etc.

In my eyes I was so right in what I had said, though I knew I had been very unkind, which was not okay—and to top it off the Lord gave me a glimpse through my husband’s eyes…then I felt ashamed of myself and hid from them both.

Thankfully, with the Holy Spirit’s prompting, I began to remind myself how much my husband and the Lord both love me, and how often and completely they forgive me. The Lord chooses to remember my sins no more (Isaiah 43:25) and my husband is truly ready 70 x 7 to forgive me. As I am him.

We had open, relationship-mending conversation. We discussed the need to not try so hard to protect each other that we end up with resentments and hurting each other more in the end. It’s okay to have hard conversation, it’s ok to disagree, but it needs to be done with respect and in love.

We ended up having a wonderful weekend, the best I can recall in months as a matter of fact.

If you are holding on to anything from a bad yesterday (or decades of yesterdays), I would encourage you to give it to the Lord, have relationship-mending conversation if appropriate, let it go, and welcome in a good today.

Father God, thank You for loving us and showing us through Your Son what it looks like to forgive and let it go. Amen.

“Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others]” (Mark 11:25 AMP).