Short & Sweet: A Note About Forgiveness

At what point do we give up on our marriage? In answer to that question, I'd like to re-direct. At what point do you want your marriage to give up on you? At what point do you want the Savior to rescind your part of the Atonement and quit forgiving? At what point do you want your spouse to throw in the towel and give up on you? Yes, you, the person who claims to be without sin, casting your stone so readily at he who also sins (him/her, your partner in life, the one you vowed to love and cherish always). The one you pledged your love to and attempted to build a life with. Why is it that we feel so angry and indignant at the weakness of our spouses to the point of wanting to walk away? How can we think we're worthy enough to be the one to make the judgment call?

With soul-crushing realization, we may see ourselves in an incredibly unflattering light. We, who turn so quickly away from our loved ones, forgetting the many times they've chosen to turn toward us in the same scenario. I believe that we start wanting to call it quits when we've become too narrow-sighted and -minded. We seek the easy way out when we've forced ourselves to see that as the only way out; we've taken away the ability to view anything but what we choose to see in front of us. Like horses, we are wearing blinders. Unlike horses, however, we have opposable thumbs and are fully capable of taking those blinders off and realizing that there is a bigger picture that needs to be accounted for. 

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I talked with a Nazarene Preacher on Friday about what I was going to school for. After some back and forth about society's views of marriage and whether or not I was married, he asked me if I believed in forgiveness: I said "Of course, I have to!" He noted "You don't have to, but if you want this to work, you do." I thought it was pretty obvious and that it didn't even need to be said, but I think it's probably not obvious for everyone.

We have to forgive one another for being human! We have to forgive one another for our mistakes and our weaknesses. Granted, it's not always easy, but we ought to at least try for the sake of our marriages and for the sake of our partner's happiness. How about that concept? What else could we improve upon for our partner's happiness?