It was, perhaps, the saddest day I ever spent with my precious grandmother, ma Marraine.

She and I had become quite close. We would go for walks together, we would talk for hours, and she was someone I felt I could confide in when those my own age laughed at me or refused to understand.  I guess I must have been special to her in the same way, because one day she confided something to me…

You see, although I loved my Marraine, I never understood why she always looked so sad. Perhaps it was for this very reason that I tried so hard to be with her, so as to cheer her up! And I always succeeded in getting a smile on her face; however, the underlying layer of sadness never seemed to go away completely. I often wondered what it was that made her sad and why nothing I did would make the sadness go away. After that day, however, I knew: My Marraine was sad because she wasn’t the only one in my grandfather’s life… He had been unfaithful to her many, many times over many, many years.

Up until that time, I had also highly esteemed my grandfather. After hearing how he had been treating my precious Marraine, I couldn’t stand to be with him. I didn’t even want to be in the same room he was in. How could he hurt my sweet, gentle Marraine like that! She never showed anyone anything but pure, unselfish love! She deserved to be treated with dignity and respect; not like a toy that could be pushed aside for another when he got bored with her!

My Marraine only spoke of this that one time. It seemed that this had been weighing on her chest, and it did her a lot of good to tell someone. It was perhaps the next thing she told me that cemented my utmost respect for her: She said she forgave him!

Wait! How could she, after all those years of mistresses on the side? How could she just forgive him and continue to let him come home? Yet I was also wise enough to realize that carrying that anger would have changed her. It would have taken away her sweet innocence…

I learned a wonderful lesson that day. I learned the power of forgiveness!

You see, my Marraine didn’t deserve to be treated the way her husband treated her. Neither would she have ever considered treating someone that way. What she realized, however, is that we aren’t called to simply forgive the things we, ourselves, might find ourselves doing. Rather, we are called to forgive as we have been forgiven: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13 NIV). My Marraine knew that the Lord is calling us to see the wrong doings that others commit through the backdrop of the cross. She understood that Jesus forgives us, even though He would never do the atrocities we do on a daily basis; and as a result of His forgiveness, freely-given and undeserved, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps. 103: 12 NIV).

Could I forgive the way my Marraine did?

Only by the grace of God!

This was, however, the secret to her soft, sweet innocence; and that same soft, sweet innocence could be mine as well, as long as I chose to forgive!

Thank you, Marraine, for teaching me the value and importance of forgiving: Not just the offences that I might find myself doing, but ALL offences!

In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answer2prayer Ministries

(To access the entire “Ma Marraine” devotional series, please click here!)