I've had ample opportunity to practice Welcoming Prayer. A few months ago, I sinned against a friend, unintentionally hurting her. As sin often does, it propagated. Losing her friendship wasn’t the worst of it. Unfortunately, the ripples spread to our children.

In The Showings by Julian of Norwich, one thing Julian was concerned about was sin. She said, “It seemed to me that if there were no such thing as sin, we would all be as pure as our Lord created us, reflecting his likeness.” In other words, we would be whom God created us to be—our unique, fully human selves. She said, “If he had left sin out of creation, it seemed to me, all would be well.” She knew traveling down this line of thought wasn’t good but couldn’t help doing so. Jesus through this showing said to her, “Sin is inevitable, but all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” He showed her that he held no blame against her, for “the passion of Christ encompasses all the pain that ever was or ever shall be, and that his was the worst pain of all—even greater than the greatest pain.” She then realized that if he held no fault against her, she could hold none against him for allowing sin.

After I apologized several times and asked my friend whom I'd hurt for forgiveness, she was unable to forgive me. All I could do was welcome the spiritual growth I would gain through my mistake and the pain it inflicted, especially to the ones I love, and pray for all involved. There is wisdom in Welcoming Prayer. Noticing is always a powerful first step. Next, welcoming can take us from shame to acknowledgment and understanding that God can and will teach us through our mistakes. Finally, surrender is always an invitation of the Spirit. As Jesus prays to the Father in Luke 22:42, "… not my will but yours be done."

Lord, forgive me for what I have done. Like Julian, I’m sad that sin exists—my own and that of others—but I also know that you would not be all-loving if you didn’t allow us our free will. Help me, help all people, to become more like you. Thank you for helping me welcome the pain and for healing me through it. Thank you for growing my kids through this. Because Jesus paid the price of my sin, all will be well. I surrender to you, trusting that you will work all bad things in this situation for your good.

Speaking of letting go, a quote I heard or read last year has stuck with me. Scott Sauls in A Gentle Answer says, “Because Jesus has covered all of our offenses, we can be among the least offensive and least offended people in the world.” This seems like the response of humility. I am working on this. The next time someone sins against me, may I respond in gracious forgiveness like I wish had been done for me. Amen.