I'm Sorry

Yellow Rose in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Psalms 19:12 NIV

"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults."

I have taught American literature for years to my high school students. Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose ancestor served as a judge on the Salem Witchcraft Trials, was obsessed by the psychological effects of hidden sin on a person's life. "The Minister's Black Veil" is an example of a short story we read as a class that examines this concept.

My family helps me find my hidden faults. My thirteen year-old daughter, Allison, lets me know when I am not paying attention to her.

"What did I just say?" she challenges me.

"Uh--" I'm at a loss as I look up from my writing. I’ve been caught. Exposed for the fake I am. I was half-listening to her, and she knows it. I wasn't giving her my full attention.

I'm not much better with my husband, John, when I'm answering email.

"Lori, I'm going to the store, do you know what we need?"

"What?"  The look on his face says it all. 

I resolve to be better. I know I've let them down. I kick myself for putting the writing and the emails or the grades or the parent phone calls before them. It's wrong, and my priorities are out of whack. I fool myself into thinking I can multi-task, but I fall on my face instead.

Fortunately, my family loves me. They forgive my failings. I have to say "I'm sorry" too many times to them, it seems.   However, we balance each other out. They have to say, "I'm sorry" as well. We all have moments in the family when we fail.

Family is about forgiveness and love. I'm thankful mine forgive me.

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Dear Lord, thank you for forgiving my hidden faults.