by John and Diane
At 9 am on Good Friday I had my family get together. As a foster home I cant make my kids
pray with me, I always invite them to though, and when they do it always makes
me smile.
They didn’t know why I ask them to come to the front room. They
were all doing their own things by this time. There was no school that day. It was the start of spring break.
I asked them “Do
you know what was happening right now?”
They look at each other and said “No,” thinking that maybe someone
did something and I was trying to find out who or trying to get them to own up to
something.
So I let them off the hook and said “Jesus was being nailed
to the cross and I want to say a prayer for him right now.”
“It was a 9 am and he was laid down on the cross and was
nailed to it for all our sins.” so I kneeled down on the floor in front of the
couch and said “Thank you Father
for your son Jesus, for giving him to us as a sacrifice, to take all the bad
things we did off our hearts so we could be free from sins. Thank you Jesus for giving up your life
and for being whipped and beaten for us for the things we do Amen.”
Afterwards, the boys asked, “Why he was beaten and whipped?
What did he do?”
I said “nothing. He just wanted to help.
They asked, “So why did they do it?
I answered, “They didn’t like what he was saying and doing?”
“They feared him and they were jealous of him, but he had to
do this for us to show his love for us. See, in the pray, Our Father, we say forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us, so if your mad at
some one you have to forgive them, its that simple."
I continued, "Jesus didn’t have any sin, so when he ask his Father for forgiveness, the Father said he had no sin to forgive. All Jesus had done was good deeds for the Father. Jesus even forgave the men who were killing him and all the people who helped when he said "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." That is why he can take our sins away. ”
I continued, "Jesus didn’t have any sin, so when he ask his Father for forgiveness, the Father said he had no sin to forgive. All Jesus had done was good deeds for the Father. Jesus even forgave the men who were killing him and all the people who helped when he said "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." That is why he can take our sins away. ”
Well, I don’t
know if they got it or not but by 3pm when I ask if they wanted to pray with me
because Jesus just died on the cross for us, they did. We said the Our Father together and sat
quietly for a moment, not one question came out and then we moved on.
Even if you are not a Christian, finding a time to teach the
lessons of forgiveness and sacrifice is important for your foster kids. It is
important to let them know that past misdeeds can be forgiven and that mistakes
made yesterday don’t have to color their relationships today. Some abused or
neglected children don’t understand the concept that although they can do “unlovable”
things, they can still be forgiven, loved, and with time, healed.
Image: Flickr: License
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