No family can live in harmony without FORGIVENESS. Remember the Magic Words? The two little Magic Words, "I'm Sorry" have so much power to change attitudes, feelings, and outcomes, whether between parents, siblings, or other family members.
Why are those two words so hard to say? I'm sure you know people who haven't spoken to family members for a long time because they couldn't admit a mistake, someone uttered an unkind word, or some other slight occurred, and they couldn't either ask for forgiveness or say "I'm sorry." How many families have been split apart because of a stubborn refusal to right a wrong, or let something go by. My sister has a saying that is appropriate here, which I find I am reminded of quite often, "Is it a hill to die on?" Think about that; is it really that important to be right? Is it that important that you are willing to forgo or ruin a family relationship?
Since our kids model the behavior they see us demonstrate, it is important to show them the value in forgiveness. Live with an attitude and desire to make amends when necessary. Show them how they can make up for something they have done wrong. Help them to understand when they need to forgive and to ask for forgiveness. Sibling squabbles will give you plenty of teachable moments; just point out the need for forgiveness and how to ask for it.
Without forgiveness there cannot be a happy, loving atmosphere in any home. It's best to admit we made a mistake, apologize, and ask to be forgiven. It doesn't matter what the problem is, the important thing is to resolve it and return to loving each other. We talked before about having family meetings to resolve conflicts. Forgiveness should be the end result of every family meeting.
As we are helping our kids learn important, life changing social skills we need to remember the most important part of forgiveness is forgetting about it and being a happy family again.
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