Experiment with Forgiveness
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” is something we say every Sunday during church, but while it’s easy to SAY how important it is to forgive and be forgiven, it can be much more difficult to do. This week, make forgiveness tangible with a combination art project/science experiment that’s fun and meaningful for the whole family!
Begin by talking about what happens when you have been wronged, but do not forgive the person who has wronged you. What does it feel like to hold onto those feelings? Be super specific – do those feelings have a color? A shape? Where do they live in your body?
Next, use this handy template to draw a “body scan” of your feelings. All of you, even the adults! If holding a grudge makes your stomach hurt, maybe you color in the stomach with a dark color. If your anger takes over your thoughts, maybe you draw lots of red dots in the head. When everyone is finished, each person can respond to our favorite art-related discussion prompt: “Tell me about what you drew.”
Now you’re ready to experiment with how forgiveness can change things. You can find the the full instructions on the Flame Creative Children’s Ministry blog, but it’s really very simple. All you need is a jug of water and fizzy tablets, like an antacid. Think about someone you haven’t forgiven yet, someone who makes you feel like your drawing, and ask God to help you let go of those feelings. Then drop in a tablet (or part of one) and as the bubbles rise up, imagine the feelings going up to God. You don’t have to hold them anymore!
The folks at Flame offer some interesting added perspective to what you might observe as the tablets dissolve: if the process takes a while, that’s okay. So does forgiveness. And if the water is discolored after you’re done, it’s because the bad thing that happened doesn’t get erased when we forgive, we just don’t have to carry it anymore.
If you’d like, you can follow up the experiment by doing another round of “body scan” drawing – how does it feel when you forgive? We hope your family leaves this project feeling both enlightened AND lightened. Forgiveness may not be easy, but it sure does feel good.
Share your experiment’s “results” with us on social media – post pictures and/or comments on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
