A small lesson on forgiveness

I picked up my 5 year old from preschool on Tuesday and could tell something was wrong with her. As we drove I asked what was wrong and the floods descended from her hazel-brown eyes. It broke my heart. She's had a friend at preschool all year that she has enjoyed playing with on the playground. They aren't in the same class, but they always play together when the classes meet up outside. She cried that the last several times that she has seen her on the playground that the little girl keeps running away from her. Tuesday she finally asked her why she keeps running away from her and the little girl said, "I don't want to be your friend anymore." Devastation. It broke her heart. All day she wept as she told the story to other people and she got lots of comfort and lots of mixed advice. "You don't need her anyway." "She was mean to do that to you, just ignore her." "Just play with someone else." On the way to school the next day I told her to remember all the fun she had with the little girl and to tell her that she had fun being her friend and to be honest and tell her that she really hurt her feelings by saying she didn't want to be friends anymore. And offered that maybe she didn't really think about it or had a bad day or that there may just be other things that we don't know, but that we should forgive her and if she still had a bad reaction that we might just need to accept that, but if we care about someone that it is important to try and it is important to forgive.

I realize it could have turned out different, but I'm grateful that the little girl said she was sorry and that she would be her friend again. My daughter came home with a great big smile and a mended heart. She learned that it is ok to confront a difficult situation and to "not let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved" (a quote from one of the general authorities of my church, but I don't know which one...sorry)