Day in and day out, we see grown men and women who are tormented, struggling, hurting, bound, hopeless…the list goes on and on. Almost, if not every, person we meet with is struggling with a wound from their childhood. I’ve often thought that if only children could learn how to forgive at the earliest age, they could avoid so much of the pain and torment that carrying unforgiveness throughout their lives brings.

Early Thanksgiving morning, all was quiet in the Sim’s household with Maverick, their aging golden retriever, sleeping beside Charlene’s hospice bed. Suddenly, at 3:45 AM, Maverick uncharacteristically jumped up and ran to Steve’s bed and nuzzled him awake. When Steve got up to check on Charlene, she breathed her last few breaths and flew into the arms of Jesus. In that moment Steve lost his wife and best friend and Forgiving Forward lost a dear friend and our most passionate team member.

Did you know that Forgiving Forward is now available in 6 different languages? It’s true! In addition to English, our book has been translated into Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, Korean and our most recent translation, Russian. Each version has its own “God story” behind the translation process that would amaze you. We regularly hear reports of how the Forgiving Forward book is making an impact in people’s lives who would never be helped through the English edition. This story from Korea will bless you.

Recently, Toni and I were teaching Forgiving Forward in Costa Rica. On the Sunday we were there, I had the privilege of sharing the message in a church in Santa Cruz. Each week around 40 people meet in a small cinder-block building with light circles on the floor from the holes in the tin roof. There was no AC, fans, projector or screen for media. There was no worship team or worship band. The worship was led by the pastor who played prerecorded worship songs from his phone through a small PA system. It was hot and dusty with little airflow. It lacked anything that many consultants would consider to be “essential elements for an effective worship environment.” But did it really?

When we are faced with sorrow, grief, uncertainty, suffering, and pain, the way to respond that is most fitting for a disciple of Jesus is to surrender to His will and to die to ours. Jesus is showing us how to agree to His plan and give up ours. When I yield and pray, “Father, glorify Your name in and through me in this situation. Reveal Yourself. Lord let me see You.” I experience peace amidst the sorrow. I find myself filled with strength and hope knowing that God will glorify Himself in my life.