Be a Betty Louise...choose to forgive

I am sitting here with my Bible open trying to pour some good stuff into my soul this morning. I am one of those Bible carriers that has to be in the catchers mode when I open my Bible....it is filled with pictures and handwritten notes. When I opened it this morning.....out fell a black and white picture of my mom, decked in her "do rag" (and she wore it with style in those cancer days) and grinning from ear to ear. What a treasure! I just sat and stared at it and studied it for a few minutes (yep...before I ever read the first verse of scripture). What a picture of grace, beauty, and forgiveness. It just hit me. All the things I struggle with it seems she just personified. (She is with the Lord now). How is it that someone who was abandoned by her mom at a young age, mistreated by her stepmom for years, widowed in her forties, caretaker for said abandoned mom later in life....could be such a symbol of grace and forgiveness. I believe she CHOSE to forgive. It wasn't something that just naturally happened. I do believe by the way that my mom was somewhat superhuman (youdahadtaknownher) but I don't think this all just happened. I know she struggled with her lot in life and yes, she chose, to be graceful and forgiving. For some of us it is a true character flaw that we want to be loved and accepted by everyone. I possess this said flaw. I saw mom struggle with those who would malign her, thwart her attempts at love and acceptance, even plot evil against her. I was there in her dying days when she received a robust vase of roses from a lady who had done nothing but plot her destruction at their former church, only to now beg for her forgiveness as mom lay dying. She chose to forgive....as she had so many times in life. What a blessed example for me. These last days have been days of true heartsearching about the events of the last few weeks in my life as a missionary. I am in so many ways following the path of my mom. What will I do with the forgiveness Christ has given me. Will I chose to withhold it from those who "plot evil against me" or will I CHOOSE to be a Betty Louise and grant it freely? Just the ramblings of one tired Jamerican......Selah.