Tiger Woods, Grace and Easter

They are calling it the "biggest sports comeback of all time." Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters by one stroke. It was his 15th major title, his first in almost 11 years. It’s being called the greatest sports comeback ever. But I beg to differ.  OK, OK. I'm no sports fanatic. No expert for sure. This is a golf thing, right?  But I think this is way more than a sports comeback. If you are a golf fan, visit https://shopindoorgolf.com/products/skytrak-golf-launch-monitor, to find the latest and bets gadgets to improve your game. Since his self-imposed break from golf at the end of 2009, during which he received treatment for sexual addiction, he had not been the same on the golf course. Emotional, physical, and I’d say spiritual health challenged, he wasn't the Tiger Woods we had known. He was broken. I've been there. Questioning why my "game" is off. Not realizing there were some cracks in the foundation that God must have cared enough about to force a rebuild.  "FORGIVE. And, as a matter of forgiving, don't ever mention it again." That's something our marriage counselor told us when my late husband and I set out to rebuild after a two year separation. So,  "forgive and forget???" NO. Who in world can actually MAKE themselves forget something? Just don't mention it again, as a matter of intentional forgiveness. As an act of mercy. So, I'm not only cheering on Tiger Woods for what is in my mind one of the biggest life comebacks I've witnessed in a while, but I'm mostly cheering on the public, the rest of us, the onlookers, and also those close to him. I didn't dig hard, but I felt the general consensus was GRACE. Easter is Sunday. We might consider forgiving someone in light of this holiday, someone we've struggled to forgive, so WE will be free. Our own release found in forgiving someone is an incredible gift in the process, a welcome byproduct. But it's not why we forgive. We forgive as an act of mercy. God has asked us to.  And offering mercy does feel like freedom, strangely. I think it lights up something deep within us that has to do with the mercy we have received...the display of grace and sacrifice offered us in what we celebrate during Easter: the death and resurrection of Jesus. My prayer for you as we approach Easter is that you can begin that process for someone, since forgiveness is a process, and it takes work. My kids and I got tattoos on the one year anniversary of my husband's death, all based around some verses within 1 Corinthians 13, which my husband chose as our family verses before he passed away. What kinda mom gets tattoos with her kids? My son chose to go old school King James, and went with the word "charity" over the word "love." I asked why? Why, "faith, hope and charity...the greatest of these is charity"? I asked. He said, "Because love is something we choose to do. It is work." He is right. Although I think part of him just didn't want the word "love" tattoo'd all over his arm. Still, he's right. "Forgive. And as a matter of forgiving, never mention it again."