I Will Greet This Day With a Forgiving Spirit
David Ponder learns of the 6th Decision from Abraham Lincoln on November 11, 1863. The date and location are important to applying the Compassionate Decision.
David had been in Gettysburg, PA, nearly 4 months prior during the Civil War battle, where he met Joshua Chambers and received the third decision on a hot and humid July day.
Now David was back in Gettysburg on a cold day in November when a portion of the fields was being dedicated as a cemetery for those that died there.
Lincoln’s conversation with David shows us the importance of forgiveness.
For Lincoln, the President of the United States, was president of a divided nation.
He took office on March 4, 1861, and in just over a month, on April 12, 1861, the Civil War began. The war ended on April 9, 1865, but Lincoln was assassinated on April 15th, less than a week after the war’s end. Killed by John Wilkes Booth, a former resident of the town I live in now.
While at Gettysburg for the cemetery’s dedication, Lincoln needed to keep forgiveness front and center. How could Lincoln bring the country back together? Through forgiveness.
For me, the last paragraph of Decision 6 is something I know I need to implement each and every day.
I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears, and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun. I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. I will forgive myself.
What if we started the day forgiving ourselves and others?
