Confess Your Sins, One to Another...

Oh, it was very difficult. We woke MW from her nap and she attended her etiquette class (a perk to trading out graphic design services) and then came home for dinner, after which she knew it would be time to go see Mrs. S.

Following dinner I instructed her to go upstairs and put on her shoes. As she approached the foot of the stairs she turned to me and said, “I’m so sad I stole that scarf.” She was tearing up and her head was kind of hanging low. I scooped her up in my arms and shared with her the beautiful blessing of Christ’s work on the cross. We prayed together and she went upstairs and put on her shoes…

MW and I loaded into the car. She held the scarf and was pretty quiet. A few minutes prior to pulling into Mrs. S’s neighborhood, MW asked, “could we just leave the scarf for Mrs. S if she isn’t home?” I told her “no, you have to confess to her what you did and seek her forgiveness.” Then MW asked me to pray for her again. We thanked God for sending His Son to die for our sins. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would give her boldness and courage. We prayed that Mrs. S would be gracious and quick to forgive. (Which I knew she would.)

We pulled into the driveway and MW said, “yep, they are here.” We climbed out of the car and walked into the garage. I let MW go first. She climbed the steps and knocked on the door, tap, tap, tap, tap. Within a few moments Mrs. S opened the door.

Mr. S was there and upon seeing MW in her pajamas, asked if she was there to spend the night…not quite.

Mrs. S knelt down on the floor and this is pretty much how things went:

MW: “I took this and that was wrong. I am sorry; please forgive me.”
Mrs. S: “Oh, that’s okay. Did you take it by accident? Without realizing you had it?
MW: nods her head
Me: “Or did you hide it in the diaper bag?”
MW: nods her head
Mrs. S: “MW, that was wrong. That is not okay. That is stealing and it is wrong to steal. You don’t ever need to do that again. Don’t ever do that again, okay?”
MW: nods her head
Mrs. S: “I love you and I forgive you,” and she gave MW a hug.

Then MW ran into my arms and buried her head in the crook of my neck. She nearly knocked me off my feet. She whispered in my ear that she was “so embarrassed” and “could we please go now?”

And then my heart started bursting and I reminded MW that Mr. and Mrs. S love her very much and that they are sinners just like she is and just like T and I are. I reminded her that they have been forgiven by Jesus for their sins and that they were showing her the same mercy God has shown them by forgiving her. I told her that they love her just the same now as before she ever stole that scarf. Mrs. S was quick to reassure her as well. We reminded her that this was part of the beauty of the cross and that now that she’d confessed and been forgiven it was time to rejoice, not cry.

Mrs. S knelt down and had MW stand before her. She told MW a story about a little girl who had stolen an answer off someone else’s paper. The little girl’s teacher saw her take the answer and had to take the little girl out in the hall and confront her about what she’d done. The little girl was very embarrassed and sad. She apologized to the teacher and today they are best buds. Mrs. S told MW who the little girl was and MW immediately asked who the teacher was…then Mrs. S assured MW that the teacher loved the little girl just the same, just like Mrs. S loved MW just the same.

MW ran back to me and buried her face in my neck once again. Then Mr. and Mrs. S asked her what she’d been learning in school and finally we got her to come out of her shell a little bit. She told them about learning the letter M and that we remember what M says because M & Ms are mmmmmm good. Well what do you know? Mr. S’s favorite candy is M&Ms and they just happened to have a few. Mrs. S gave MW a handful. Then Mrs. S kissed and hugged MW once more. Mr. S picked her up and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and once more, they both told her they loved her.

They walked us to the door and as we approached the driveway, MW said, “you were right, Mom. She really does love me.”

As we pulled away, MW said she was still very embarrassed about what she did. I told her that was pretty normal and that she might feel embarrassed for a while. There are sins I’ve committed that I’ve felt embarrassed over for quite some time. The important thing is that she confessed and is forgiven. Thank goodness God sent His Son and that His blood covers our sins - that we don’t have to carry the guilt and the burden of our sin. We prayed once more, thanking Christ that His blood has washed away our sins. Thank You Jesus.