Every so often, for a treat when we were little, my Mum would buy my brother and myself (this was when we were very young and there were only two of us) a cream doughnut as a special treat – the long ones that are split in half lengthways and filled with cream and jam.
Being the personalities that we are, we had different approaches to eating this treat. Both of us would split the confectionary in half lengthways. The cream/jam would always fall on one side whilst the other side had none; it never went half on each side. My brother, having no self-control and seeking instant gratification would eat the creamed side first. Me, being the sort of child that didn’t unwrap her Christmas presents until teatime, believing that anticipation was in many cases better than the anticlimax of reality, saved the creamy side till last.
Well, of course, one fatal teatime, the inevitable happened. Sitting side by side in front of the television, I ate my uncreamed side slowly and sedately, while he ate his creamed side speedily and greedily, then before I had a chance to look up and see what was happening, he started on my creamed side, leaving me with the barren uncreamed and unjammed left-over piece.
That five-minute incident happened the best part of sixty years ago. We smile about it now (at least, he does!), he apologised, I may have said I forgive him but the fact that I’m writing this probably means I don’t and it certainly is witness to me remembering the incident.
I’m so thankful that God really forgives us. All we need to do is ask and He is so glad to wipe away every remembrance of our sin. Our sins are no more – not a crumb of evidence left.