Fingers, knees and toes.

I was asked to make an attempt at writing about a certain topic, forgiveness. Now I am aware that as an ex minister such a topic can very quickly get very heavy and difficult.  

I do not see this little exercise each day of writing a little something as anything other that  a little sharing and it helps to keep my mind active and also my fingers moving. I do of course hope that those who very kindly take the time each day to stop by and read get something from this little blog also. 

So how do I deal with such a difficult subject. 

Well, let me go back a line or two. Why do I want to keep my fingers nimble? The simple answer is for the same reason I walk so much, to keep my feet moving.

Life has been harsh to both my hands and my feet. Let me rephrase that, I have  been harsh to them. My feet I abused for years running up and down mountains and never really taking care of them when they became chipped or damaged. I just kept pushing them. Now they are rebelling and considering giving up and I have to continually prompt them to work with me. 

My early life as a butcher meant that my hands also suffered much because of all the cuts I inflicted on them and then did not always take the best advice. A long story, but they too now often rebel and I have to persuade them to keep going for me.

So here is a little tale, please stick with it. 

There once was a hand whose fingers were great friends. The owner had a dangerous job working with very sharp knives, and despite the care he took of his fingers the thumb kept getting all the worst of it. It was continually bruised and cut.

At first the other fingers asked the thumb's forgiveness for their clumsiness, and the thumb did indeed forgive them. However this happened so many times, that one day, the thumb decided it had had enough and was going to forgive them no more. He stretched himself away from the fingers and wanted nothing to do with them.

At first the thumb looked dignified, straight, rigid and proud. However that kind of position was forced and looked ridiculous. The owner of the hand had to keep it in his pocket out of sight. There the thumb and the rest of the fingers suffered in darkness and obscurity.

Finally, the thumb understood that it had not all been the fault of the fingers. There had been times when he had got in the way causing the fingers to be cut also. 

So the thumb asked the fingers for forgiveness, fearful that being rejected and alone he would become useless. 

The fingers forgave him, because better than anyone they knew that they were all to blame, and that everybody makes mistakes at some point. No one is ever perfect they knew that. 

So, friends once again, all five of them worked together, I had to stop myself from writing hand in hand, and they proved to the owner of the hand that all was well and they were all working in harmony. 

Before long they were all back out in the light aware that the only way to be happy was to forgive each other, thus avoiding the gloomy depressing prospect of doing nothing and being unhappy.

It seems much easier to hold a grudge then to forgive, but in reality it is better to forgive then to burden ourselves with hate and bad feelings.

have a good day and please forgive my being so serious this Saturday morning.  Today I am going to talk nice to my feet and toes and see if they well help me round the golf course with my son.