“Learning to Forgive,” Friend, Aug. 1998, 41
Learning to Forgive
Of you it is required to forgive all men (D&C 64:10).
I have always liked small snow globes, the ones that seem to snow inside when you shake them. So when I saw one at a garage sale for five cents, I begged Mom to let me buy it. She said I could. I ran home, got a nickel from my piggy bank, and headed back to buy my treasure. I was so happy that I carefully carried it over to show my next-door neighbor. I knew from experience that snow globes are easily broken, so I took very good care of my new toy. Later that day, my mom and I went out of town for a few hours to visit some friends. As we drove off, I remembered that I had not put my snow globe in a safe place. I worried that my younger brother, who was three, might find it and break it. This bothered me the entire trip, but Mom reassured me that he probably wouldn’t even find it.
As we were returning home, I was still worried, but I felt the Spirit calm me. It let me know that if we got home and my toy had been broken, I could do what Jesus would want me to do. I could forgive my brother even though it would be hard.
When we arrived home, I immediately asked Dad if he had seen my snow globe. He told me sadly that soon after we left, my little brother had found it, thought it was a ball, and thrown it against the wall. The globe had shattered.
I cried because I was sad that it was broken, but I forgave my brother because I knew that that was what Jesus would want me to do. I gave my brother a hug and told him that it was all right.
My neighbor later asked about my globe, and Mom told her what had happened. She was so pleased that I could forgive my brother that she bought me a new snow globe. I now have a collection of them, and I learned that I have to take very good care of them. But if one were to break, I know that I could forgive again because it’s the right thing to do.
Illustrated by Sherry Thompson