Sometimes all you want to hear from someone are the words, “I’m sorry.”
I’ll never forget the day my dad and I had “that” conversation (see https://soakinguptheson.com/2012/07/07/therapy/ ). I asked him if he was ever sorry for what he had done. He admitted it and said those two words I had longed to hear for years, “I’m sorry.”
When we do something wrong to someone, sometimes those two little words are the hardest words to say. We just don’t like to admit that we were wrong. I guess pride gets in the way. At least it does for me.
Sometimes those two words are the only words we do know to say in various situations. For example, when someone has lost a loved one and you don’t know what to say except for “I’m sorry” with a long embrace attached to the conversation.
What about those simple moments when you accidentally bump into someone and you quickly say “Oh, I’m sorry.” We are immediate to say it then. But it’s those truly needed moments that it should be said or heard that is often the hardest.
When I read Genesis 50:17b it wondered if those apologetic words was all Joseph wanted to hear. That portion of the verse says, “When Joseph received their message, he wept.” What message? Remember when he was the young favored child his brothers sold him as a slave. Those times were tough, but God turned Joseph’s sorrows into joy. (God likes to do that. J) Years later, the dream that Joe had told his brothers came true. Even after they had discovered who Joseph was, years passed by with them all living together again in the same area and it doesn’t appear that anything was really mentioned about the past. (What’s that old saying, “The elephant in the room”?) Then, when their daddy died, the brothers were still afraid of Joseph and wondered if he would retaliate for their wrongdoing.
They sent a message begging for forgiveness for the past. When Joseph heard those words, he wept. I bet that was a big relief and a comfort to him. Those two words, “I’m sorry” are all he wanted to hear.
Do you need to apologize to someone for something you’ve done? Put your pride aside and go do it. It will make you and the other person feel better.
Blessings to you.
| January 28 |