Guest Author Linda Shenton Matchett on Forgiveness as an Act of Obedience
Guest Post
Before we dive into a month of thankfulness together, I’m handing my blog over to a friend. Linda Shenton Matchett writes historical Christian fiction about second chances, and her newest Christmas release wrestles with choosing forgiveness, a subject most of us would rather avoid.
I asked Linda to share what writing this story taught her, and she said yes. Everything below this note comes from her pen, not mine. Pour a cup of coffee and let her words do their work. I’ll be back soon to kick off our November thankfulness series.
~Heidi
Choosing Forgiveness
By Linda Shenton Matchett
We human beings are an emotional lot, some of us are more emotional than others, and I admit I’m one of those. I also have the memory of an elephant (a real thing — look it up!) which is not a good combination because it means I can carry a grudge. Consider this: I’m sixty-five-years-old, and I can tell you the name of the 5th grade bully. Not something to be proud of.
Anyway, in my latest release, Quinnlynn’s Christmas Quandary, forgiveness is the key to the entire story, and like me, the characters learned about it the hard way. Spoiler alert: we can’t do it on our own.
Quinnlynn and her parents live in Boston, a city that believes where someone comes from is just as important as who they are. Early in the “season,” it comes to light that a Lakota chief is part of her family’s lineage. As a result, she and her parents are shunned. In her anger, Quinnlynn can’t forgive them for withholding the information from her and flees the city.
Isaiah Libby doesn’t want a wife, but he needs one to help raise his niece, a precocious eight-year-old, who was orphaned when her parents, Isaiah’s brother and sister-in-law, are killed by raiding Lakotas. Isaiah can’t forgive the Natives, or God for letting it happen. He especially can’t forgive Quinnlynn who is related to the monsters who fractured his family.
Since Violet Libby was three years old, it’s been only her and her uncle Isaiah, and that’s just fine with her. She can’t forgive the interloper who has shown up to marry him. As a result, she devises pranks and dirty tricks to make the woman go away.
But God
What each of these three hurting souls discover is that forgiveness is not an emotion. Forgiveness is a choice. An act of obedience. Make the choice, and the emotion will come, not necessarily right away, but it will come. God is not asking us to “feel better.” He is asking us to obey his commands, and one of those commands is to forgive others for <u>whatever wrong they’ve committed</u>.
“Forgiveness is not an emotion. Forgiveness is a choice.” ~Linda Shenton Matchett
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I probably don’t have to tell you that granting forgiveness will be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It’s easy to stay angry. It’s easy to hang onto the hurt. And society will usually agree with you. They will say it’s your right to be angry and unforgiving. But Christians use a different rule book.
According to one source I found, forgiveness is mentioned almost 130 times throughout the Bible. The apostle Paul talks about it in letters sent to the church at Colossae and Ephesus: “…bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.” (Colossians 3:13 NASB) and “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NASB) Jesus also speaks about it on many occasions.
Choosing forgiveness is not pretending the grievance didn’t happen or that it doesn’t hurt. You’re not excusing the bad behavior, but by choosing forgiveness you are one step closer to healing. I can tell you from personal experience that carrying anger, hatred, and/or a need to retaliate is detrimental to one’s spiritual, emotional, and physical health.
Because of any number of reasons, we are sometimes not able to meet with the individual who wronged us to grant forgiveness. That’s okay. A book I read several years ago suggested sitting next to an empty chair and imagining the individual seated beside you. You then tell that person you forgive them. Period, end. No great explanation is needed. Just the simple act of bestowing forgiveness. This isn’t a “magic bullet,” and you may need to perform the act multiple times.
But God (there it is again!) will be with you each and every time. You are not alone. That’s a promise you can count on. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” John 14:16 NASB (my italics for emphasis)
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About Quinnlynn’s Christmas Quandary
Can a woman be blamed for her ancestors’ crimes?
When Boston society turns its back on Quinnlynn, her best friend, Eloise Berwyn, points her toward the Westward Home & Hearts Mail-Order Bride Agency and a fresh start out West. She arrives in South Dakota during the early days of the Great Sioux War in 1876, only to learn that her groom’s brother and sister-in-law died in a Lakota raid.
Isaiah Libby is in over his head. His eight-year-old niece, Violet, has driven off more than a few nannies, and he figures a wife won’t be able to quit. Then he discovers his bride comes from the very tribe that tore his family apart.
About Linda Shenton Matchett
Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state, immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors, and drinks copious amounts of tea.
How to Connect with Linda Shenton Matchett
Visit Linda at her website to explore all her books, and sign up for her newsletter to receive a free short story. You can also join her Facebook readers group, follow her on Pinterest and BookBub, or catch her videos on YouTube.
Thank you, Linda, for opening your heart here. Friends, if her words stirred something in you, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Christmas will be here before we know it, and Quinnlynn’s Christmas Quandary makes a lovely fireside read or a thoughtful gift for the reader on your list. Grab your copy on Amazon today and spend a few December evenings in 1876 South Dakota with Quinnlynn, Isaiah, and Violet.
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