Seventy Times Seven

Like many moms, I looked forward to the day when my daughter’s hair would be long enough to put in bows and braids. Unfortunately, it took quite a while. God blessed me with a little girl – who was bald as an onion the first year of her life. When Blaire’s hair finally started to grow, her locks were far from flowing.

It took years, but I will never forget how precious she looked the first time tiny ponytails stuck out from the sides of her head. My pride fizzled fast when curiosity got the best of my daughter.

As many children do, Blaire played beautician on herself. I had been so careful to teach her how and on what to use scissors. Time and time again I repeated myself. “Only cut paper and only use scissors with an adult present.” But she just had to see for herself exactly what scissors would do to her hair.

The first time it happened I felt upset, but handled it well. But the second time, I was in utter disbelief. Blaire had been playing in her room alone. After a while she came walking slowly down the stairs and said, “I think I want a haircut, Mommy.” Without looking up I answered, “Okay, we will talk to Ms. Kathy about that later.” (Ms. Kathy was my hair stylist.)

Then I peered over to see if my daughter had heard me. There she sat on the stairs with her hair hacked all the way over one ear and a big chunk missing from the back on the opposite side. In a tearful voice she cried, “I cut my hair by accident.” I picked her up and held her close and immediately called Ms. Kathy.

Blaire tried to explain her reasoning for chopping her hair. Through her tears, she apologized and asked if I would forgive her for using scissors alone and not on paper again. I told her what I had told her every time she asked that question, “I will always forgive you.”

Jesus taught in Matthew 18:21-22 that we are to forgive over and over again. “Then Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’” (NLT)

Forgiving Blaire for cutting her hair was easy. In fact, picturing her crazy hair-do now makes me smile. But offering unconditional forgiveness to someone who has committed a grievous sin against us or hurt us deeply is difficult. It helps me to remember that forgiveness doesn’t mean we approve of disobedience or sin. It means we let go of the offense and leave the offender in God’s hands. This frees us from bitterness, anger, and the desire to retaliate which leads our hearts and minds to peace and freedom – and freedom is waiting on the other side of forgiveness.