Sunday School Life Lessons

      As a tiny, little girl in Sunday School, our teacher would always tell us "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you." To my little kid brain, this meant be nice to everyone because you want everyone to be nice to you. It also meant that at snack time, you better share your Goldfish because you want everyone to share their food with you later on too. Well, it still does mean that to some degree. But now that life has brought harder circumstances and more difficult situations, this principle is a lot harder to live by. It's not about just being nice anymore...and it's definitely not about the Goldfish.
      Being a teenager brings on so much heartache, yet at the same time, so much excitement. You have the freedom and the power to be just about whatever or whoever you want to be. But there are the obstacles. There will always be obstacles, and I think I'm barely grasping this concept. There will always be things in your way that try to keep you from achieving your goals and becoming everything you could ever dream of. There will be the obstacles that try to keep you from doing what you want to do. For me in my life, these obstacles often come in the form of people.
     Too many times have people betrayed me - people that I let into my life. All too often I am told of incidents where close friends failed to be loyal. I can remember countless nights where there was more crying done than sleeping. But I know I'm not the only one. Many lives have similar, and often worse, stories like mine. But sometimes I find myself questioning what I did to deserve this. I didn't do anything wrong to them, so why are they treating me like this? The question seemed to haunt me a lot of the time.
     It took quite a few heart-wrenching prayers and tear-stained pillow cases before I realized a few things. I can't control how people treat me, not matter how hard I try. And, regardless of what I do, I can't always make everyone happy. I'm going to screw up, but the people that stick by my side through it all, are the people worth caring about.
     When I was talking with a friend about this subject, a few names came up that I soon categorized as the three people that had hurt me the most in my life. After crying a little bit, I was given arguably the best advice I've received in a long time. It was something like....
      "People come into your lives as lessons. Everyone does. The hardest thing you will have to do, is to forgive them. Yes, they messed up a lot of things for you. Yes, they screwed up your emotions, played with your mind, your heart, your everything. But you have the choice here. Are you going to continue to give them that window? Are you gonna let them have the power to make you cry? You could be so happy without them. Yes, you might have to tolerate them for now, but soon you'll be out in this incredible world, free to do whatever you could imagine! But the most freeing thing you can do right now, is to forgive them. Let go of what they have done to you, and what they might do to you. The damage has already been done. Forgive them and move on."
     So, do unto others as I'd have them to unto me. . . .I will. . . . Regardless of the times you have hurt me, regardless of the fears I have because of you, the memories that make me shutter, the crushed dreams, the failed plans, the pain I experience, the tears I cry, the worries I share, and the scars I bare, regardless of how hard it is, I just hope you know.... I forgive you (: