FORGIVENESS WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN
BLOOM is a ministry that seeks to grow women together in Christ. This past Saturday we hosted a workshop on Forgiveness.
Kirsty Savides was the facilitator. It started from 9.30am, with coffee / tea on arrival. Around 50 women attended, of all ages and stages of life.
Forgiveness is such a difficult topic because we all carry baggage from our lives where we have hurt, or have been hurt by others. God’s Word is rich and His grace gives us enormous comfort, help and motivation.
We considered the vertical and horizontal aspects of forgiveness - particularly how our relationship with God and His model of forgiveness to us (vertical) is what fuels our forgiveness of others (horizontal).
The first block of time was spent delving into Matthew 18 - the parable of The Unmerciful Servant. There was lots of time for discussion amongst the women around tables thinking through the model and motivation for forgiveness.
Then there was a break for tea, with a gorgeous spread of delicious cakes, muffins and snacks which the women had brought to share.
The second block of time was spent looking at the posture and practice of forgiveness. We thought about some of the principles which the Bible gives us to help us to walk the road of forgiveness and reconciliation. We could see that this takes wisdom and discernment, as we wrestled with Romans 12, Galatians 6 and Colossians 3.
As women, we were challenged to focus on God’s grace, as we seek to hold both the posture and practice of forgiveness increasingly in our relationships. We do this knowing with full confidence that the Lord is with us, the Holy Spirit is our helper, that Jesus is the ultimate Judge and that one day He will wipe away all our tears.