The power of forgiveness

There was an incident that happened when I was a teenager that taught me the power of forgiveness! It was a week after dad bought his dream car, a brand new Peugeot 504. You see, he had always dreamed of owning this car. Every time we went to pray on Sundays, he begged us to pray for his dream car.After what seemed like eternity, he bought it! It was a rare and expensive car back then, we were so happy for him and for us as a family.One week after its arrival, both my parents went to attend a party in the neighborhood. They left the precious machine behind to be cleaned and I used the opportunity to jump in with admiration. My big brother and sisters tried to stop me, but I wondered what the fuss was about.I continued playing with the buttons and before I could butt an eyelid, the car started moving, went straight, and knocked a fence. Even though it wasn’t moving so fast, it was damaged so badly! I managed to get out unscratched - shaken to the core! “Dad is going to skin you alive,” they all assured me. Even though my father wasn’t a violent man, we knew this was true and deep in my heart I knew I deserved to be punished.I went straight to my room and prayed; I asked to be forgiven even when I could not forgive myself. When he finally came home, he asked if I was ok and after confirming that I was fine, inspected the damages but didn’t say a word.When super time came, I refused to join the whole family at the dining table, but my mum came and convinced me .I sat down and toyed with my food. We all ate in silence like it was a funeral. When my dad finally called my name - breaking the silence, I was startled beyond words.“Do you remember when your baby sister lost your brand new walkman?” he asked. I nodded my head in confirmatory. “What did you do to her?” he asked. “I forgave her,” I replied. “Well, I’m forgiving you too. Just be careful next time. You could have killed yourself, you know,” he warned.I looked at him suspiciously searching for any sign of doubt. I couldn’t believe my crime was forgivable! But seeing a tiny smile on my mother’s face confirmed my pardon! I took a deep breath! How sweet is forgiveness?Since that day, I developed an even more forgiving heart and you should learn to forgive too. Even the bible says “forgive others, so that you will be forgiven too.”