{"id":1913,"date":"2011-11-03T01:00:59","date_gmt":"2011-11-03T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2011-10-28T09:10:04","modified_gmt":"2011-10-28T13:10:04","slug":"for-beginners-repeats-are-allowed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/for-beginners-repeats-are-allowed.html","title":{"rendered":"For beginners, repeats are allowed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most important thing I have learned from\u00a0the\u00a0computer age\u00a0is the wonderful power of forgiveness.\u00a0 I remember that one of the first things I was told about my computer was \u201cdon\u2019t worry they are very forgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Interestingly, this is also one of the great lessons I\u2019ve seen in action within the mentally challenged community.\u00a0My first foray into the world of computers was with an Apple 2E.\u00a0 My husband, Frank,\u00a0had purchased it and our third-grade daughter, Carol, gave him his first lessons in turning on and using\u00a0the machine.<\/p>\n

\n
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I had a red\u00a0IBM Selectric Correcting Typewriter and I was reluctant to let go of my prize machine.\u00a0 Then I got a job with a Christian magazine.\u00a0 I was\u00a0required\u00a0to write at least 200 pages each month, in addition to numerous assignments with ridiculous deadlines.<\/p>\n

My husband convinced me one night after supper that I should try the word processor.\u00a0 At 2am after completing an unheard of number of pages, I slipped into bed next to Frank and whispered, \u201cI will never use my typewriter again.\u201d\u00a0 The thing I loved was that the computer made corrections so simple.\u00a0 You just backspace and, WaLa, all was forgiven.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When I entered into the world of disabilities, I found the same forgiving and loving spirit.\u00a0 Yes, people who are mentally challenged are people like everyone else.\u00a0 However, their life experiences have taught them the great value of forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Maybe, it\u2019s because their lives are so hard and so filled with missteps that they are grateful to receive forgiveness from others.\u00a0 That is certainly the reason that they enthusiastically embrace the redemptive Christ into their lives and heart.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s because they experience so much mistreatment and misunderstanding that they have to forgive more than the rest of us.\u00a0 However, I think the secret lies in\u00a0what a mother told me several months ago.\u00a0 We were talking about her family and some of the hurtful things they had done to her.\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you continue to have anything to do with them?\u201d\u00a0 I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s too hard to hate and hold unforgiveness,\u201d she said, while nonchalantly looking at her fingernails.\u00a0 This dear mother had no idea the great secret of health, mental stability\u00a0and happiness she had uncovered.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s so much easier to love than to hate.\u201d<\/p>\n

My world was shaken.\u00a0 Of course, she was correct but how had she discovered this wonderful promise?\u00a0 I believe that the complexities of a hard life had taught her to seek for easy answers to life\u2019s perplexing problems.\u00a0 The mentally challenged community also seems to know the easy nature of love and forgiveness.\u00a0 In the first verse of Psalm 131 David confesses, \u201cI have learned to not try to figure out things that are too high and hard for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps that is the real attraction that people see when they venture into our cloistered sub-culture.\u00a0 Maybe when we slip away from the crowd, there is a deep knowing that\u00a0rings in our hearts, \u00a0I\u2019ll never be the same person because I have experienced something genuine and deeply moving.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0I have seen forgiveness walking in flesh and blood and I have seen the easy nature of love.<\/em><\/p>\n

What have you learned about forgiveness that has changed your life and direction?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most important thing I have learned from\u00a0the\u00a0computer age\u00a0is the wonderful power of forgiveness.\u00a0 I remember that one of the first things I was told about my computer was \u201cdon\u2019t worry they are very forgiving.\u201d Interestingly, this is also one of the great lessons I\u2019ve seen in action within the mentally challenged community.\u00a0My first…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8],"tags":[690,21,688,7,726,715,701,694,689,6],"class_list":["post-1913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faiths","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nFor beginners, repeats are allowed - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/for-beginners-repeats-are-allowed.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For beginners, repeats are allowed - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Perhaps the most important thing I have learned from\u00a0the\u00a0computer age\u00a0is the wonderful power of forgiveness.\u00a0 I remember that one of the first things I was told about my computer was \u201cdon\u2019t worry they are very forgiving.\u201d Interestingly, this is also one of the great lessons I\u2019ve seen in action within the mentally challenged community.\u00a0My first…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/for-beginners-repeats-are-allowed.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-03T05:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-28T13:10:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/10\/apple2e-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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