114 Quotes by Lewis B. Smedes

Can you stop your memory on a dime, put it in reverse, and spin it in another direction the way you can reverse direction on a tape recorder? We cannot forget on command. So we just have to let the forgetting happen as it will; we shouldn't rush it, and we certainly should not doubt the genuineness of our forgiving if we happen to remember. The really important thing is that we have the power to forgive what we still do remember.

Forgiving is, first of all, a way of helping yourself to get free of the unfair pain somebody caused you.

My wife has lived with at least five different men since we were wed - and each of the five has been me.

The longer we hate, the harder it is to heal us.

A wise judge may let mercy temper justice but may not let mercy undo it.

I have discovered that most people who tell me that they cannot forgive a person who wronged them are handicapped by a mistaken understanding of what forgiving is.

Self control is about being in charge of the direction our lives are taking. Now for the paradox: We get control of our lives, ultimately, not by will power but by surrender.

We feel guilty for what we do. We feel shame for what we are.

The secret of grace is that it can be all right at the center even when it is all wrong on the edges.